


Best Laid Plans

by Diana_Josinne



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9519080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diana_Josinne/pseuds/Diana_Josinne
Summary: Ginny has had trouble with creepy fans and stalkers, leaving her scared to be alone at night in strange hotel rooms. Mike suggests a drastic solution to deal with the problem. And it might just be the most idiotic thing they've ever done.





	1. A Friend in need is a friend indeed

Ginny knocked on Mike’s door and waited, when nothing happened, she knocked the door again until she could hear him move in the room.

“I’m coming,” she could hear his muffled voice from inside. Few seconds later he opened the door looking drowsy.

“Hi, sorry, did I wake you?”

“It’s 1am, so yes,” he replied with a yawn. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to sleep alone in my room. Can I sleep here?”

“You want to sleep in my room?” he was barely awake and wanted a confirmation, that he had understood correctly.

“Yes, Can I?”

“Well, okay. Mi casa es su casa,” he stepped away from the door giving Ginny room to step in.

“You won’t even notice I’m here,” she promised, placed her phone on the drawer and dived into his bed and under the covers.

“Okay,” he said and slammed the door shut. He went back to bed and settled himself next to his team mate. 

“And no sexually oriented groping, Baker.”

“I have never groped you!” she opposed loudly.

“But you want to,” Mike said with a shameless smile on his face.

“I do not!" Ginny started crankily, but softened her tone. “But I wouldn’t mind sleeping a little closer to you,” she suggested knowing that sleeping against her captain made her feel safe!

“Ok, fine! Come here.”

Ginny inched herself closer to Mike and let him put his arm around her.

“This is the most fucked up pitcher-catcher relationship in the history of Major League,” Mike commented as Ginny placed her own hand on his arm.

“But then again, I could also be a man,” Ginny pointed out, making Mike consider the ups and downs of the situation.

“Well, you have a point there, Baker. You could be Evers.”

They lay next to each other in silence and listened to each other breath. Mike’s hand was cradling Ginny’s waist, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Thanks for letting me sleep here,” Ginny whispered few minutes later, without being sure if Mike was still awake.

“I don’t mind you sleeping here, but you should do something about your fear of sleeping alone in hotel rooms, other than your usual hotel room, that is. There are always going to be freaks who are too interested in your actions, but you cannot let the fear control you. They caught the guy,” Mike’s tone was gentle even if he was telling her what to do.

“Do you have them?” She whispered.

“Freaky fans? I used to have, but not anymore. I think they lost their interest in me when I grew the beard. Maybe you should grow a beard too?” he said, trying to keep the conversation from getting too serious. It only resulted in Ginny slapping his arm.

“You’re an ass!” She exclaimed but couldn’t really be mad at him. She had always liked his black sense of humor and especially times like this, it was a good distraction.

“Ouch! …And I’m also a man, so maybe my freaks are not as scary as your peeping toms. I do understand that you’re scared. I’d probably be too. But I won’t let anything happen to you, Baker,” He always seemed to have the right words to make Ginny feel better.

“Most of them seem to think that I need some manly protector against the cruel world, that I need a man in my life to be safe, that I need THEM to be safe. Because a woman cannot take care of herself. And sometimes these things make me think it would be so much easier if I did have a boyfriend or a husband. Maybe those freaks would stop harassing me then. I mean look at where I’m right now, here in your room, because you’re a big guy who can protect me from crazy ones,” she sounded desperate. Mike had known that she was stressed about the situation, but at this extent?

“What’s stopping you then? Get a boyfriend, Baker. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard for you to find one,” Mike suggested.

“With this lifestyle? Look what it did to your relationship? And when would I have time to meet a man let alone date him or let it evolve to something more serious than that?” she said it like she had been cornered to an alley without a way out.

“Maybe you should get one of those mail order husbands?” he tried his usual humorous approach.

Ginny could hear the smirk in Mike’s voice and it made her burst into laughter.

“And you should get yourself a mail order wife!” she responded, imagining Mike getting married to some Barbie doll, who didn't speak English.

“No, I’m being serious, Baker! You could choose him from a catalogue with all the specifications you prefer. You know, 6ft, muscular, great ass, hot as hell beard, beautiful hazel eyes, HUGE cock.”

Ginny chortled at his suggestion. “For a minute there I was thinking that you were talking about yourself. Up till the part about the huge cock,” She giggled.

“You’ve never seen my cock, so you can’t know how big it is. Do you want to inspect the goods?” he sounded very pleased with himself.

“Keep it in the pants, Mr.,” Ginny didn’t bother to correct Mike’s illusion of her not having seen his cock. It had happened few months back when he was getting out of shower at Petco and didn’t know Ginny was still in her private dressing room. There he had stood in the middle of clubhouse, eyes closed, butt naked, drying his hair with a towel, when Ginny had stepped out of her room. For a moment she had just stared at his manhood, which, truth be told, was quite impressive, then turned around and gotten quietly back to her room and stayed there for good fifteen minutes before daring to go back again. The memory of the incident made her smile.

“Wait, did you say up till the part about huge cock? So, do you think that I have a great ass?” Mike returned to Ginny’s previous comment, bringing her back from her thoughts.

“It’s fine, for such an old man,” Ginny admitted knowing it would expand his already enormous ego.

“Aww, thanks, Baker. You’ve got a nice ass too.”

“Shut up, Lawson! I got away from my own room to avoid pervs.”

They fell silent again and Ginny almost fell asleep when Mike’s soft voice awoke her.

“I’ll marry you, if you need a husband.”

“What are you talking about?” the sentence was so ludicrous, Ginny wasn’t sure if she was asleep or awake.

“If you need a husband for PR purposes, I’ll marry you,” Mike repeated his words.

“You’re joking!” Ginny replied, but the way Mike had said it, made him sound very serious.

“I’m not! If you need me to marry you so that the creeps will leave you alone, I’ll do it. No-one would think that it’s not a real thing, not with how much we spend time together. I mean half of the San Diego’s male population is in love with you anyway, so why not your catcher?”

Ginny lifted her head and looked Mike. Even in the dim light she could see that he wasn’t messing with her.

“You are being serious.” it was more of a statement than a question.

“Dead!” he stared at her with a serious countenance.

“You’d marry me and be my fake husband just so that men would stop harassing me?” Ginny asked to be sure she understood Mike’s words right. She couldn’t quite grasp that someone would do something like that for her.

“As fake as can be. You know that I want you to be happy and safe doing what you want to do, play ball,” he reassured her. He had always done his best to help Ginny, been there for her. “Blip once told me that you’re my legacy. If that’s so, it’s my responsibility to keep you in the game.”

“And if you married me and met the love of your life the next day?” Ginny tried to reason against the idea.

“Like you said, with this lifestyle? Besides, I’m not looking for a love of my life,” He said firmly.

“And then what?” by now she was sitting on the bed and Mike knew she was seriously considering it. “We get a divorce after a while?”

“I don’t know? I haven’t exactly planned this out, Baker. I came up with this idea five minutes ago.”

“But would we live together?” she asked and Mike could see the little wheels turning in her head when she was thinking about his suggestion.

“Well you’re practically sleeping in my room half of the time already. What is this, fourth time this month?”

“In your glass cube?” Ginny wanted to know.

“There’s plenty of room in my glass cube. It’s a nice glass cube!” he smiled at her. It seemed he was determined to find a counter argument for each of Ginny’s arguments.

“Our agents would never accept this!” Ginny was running out of ideas how to stop this nonsense Mike was selling her.

“Us getting married? Why not? Actually, there’s nothing they could do about it,” Mike sat up next to her and took her hand in his, as if to reassure her that it was their decision and theirs alone.

“But it’s a ridiculous idea!” Ginny dared not to look at him. If she had, she would have said yes there and then.

“Yet you are considering it,” he rubbed her hand softly.

Ginny took her hand from Mike's. “I’m NOT considering it!”

“Yes, you are,” the comment was left up in the air.

Ginny bit her lip. Of course she was considering it, as idiotic as the idea sounded, she was considering it.

\--

Waking up next to her possible future fake husband was strange. Ginny looked at Mike, who was still asleep, and carefully shifted closer to him. The movement of the mattress made him mumble in his sleep. Ginny smelled his neck, thinking that she could get used to waking up next to a man who smelled so fantastic. Or not! If they were going to be fake married, she would have her own room and Mike would have his own room. Yet, she liked the idea of waking up in his bed.

She placed her hand on his stomach and shook him gently. “Mike, wake up!”

He woke up and looked around dazed.

“What? Is it morning already?”

“Yes, it’s almost eight o’clock.”

“Okay,” he lifted his head and their discussion from the evening came flooding back to his mind.

“Did you really mean it?” Ginny asked, sitting next to him on the bed.

“That I’d marry you? I did!” he said, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Well how would we pitch this idea to our agents?” Ginny was biting her lip vigorously. She was ready to marry Mike for the safety it would bring to her life, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew Amelia and Mike’s agents would throw a fit upon learning the plan. And so would rest of the world, her mother, Oscar, everyone!

“I don’t know, you’re the pitcher,” Mike yawned loudly as he sat up on the bed.

“But you came up with the idea,” Ginny insisted.

“Let’s just call it good publicity. Can you think of the ticket sales? Agents only think about money anyway,” He suggested.

“But somehow I don’t think that’s the case with this idea.”

“Well let’s not tell them. Let’s say we’re in love and you’re pregnant and we need to get married ASAP,” he wasn’t ready to have great ideas at this hour, not when he had barely woken up.

Ginny stared Mike with a blank expression. “That has to be the worst idea in the history of mankind. Step up, Lawson!”

“Well what do you expect if you ask me these kinds of things when I’m half asleep? At least let me have a cup of coffee first,” he said as he got up from the bed and stretched his stiff muscles. He made his way to the bathroom and Ginny followed him.

“We’re not married yet, Baker. Can I please take a piss in private?”

“Yes, of course, but you have to promise to back me up on this when Amelia has a seizure.”

“I promise, please go now,” he looked like he was about to pee his pants.

Ginny left him to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She sat on the bed contemplating on fake marriage. She knew that anyone in their right mind would consider this a bad idea, but the growing number of disturbing stalkers had made her nervous over the past couple of months. And every single one of them seemed to have same idea, she needed a man to keep her safe. Would they consider Mike to be someone who would keep her safe and intimidating enough for not approaching her again? Nobody could guarantee that, but her therapist had mentioned earlier, that her being single probably was some kind of a trigger for many of these delusional men.

“What are you thinking?” Mike had returned from the bathroom and was drying his hands on a towel.

“If this is an idiotic idea or not? Us getting married?” she replied with a serious face. And who wouldn’t have doubts when it came to ideas like this? She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t idiotic when she knew that it was.

“Of course it’s idiotic! But who cares? Life’s too short for not taking chances,” Mike threw the towel on the armchair and sat next to Ginny.

“You’re not helping!”

“Hey, this is up to you. Like I said, I’ll marry you if you need a fake husband. I’ll do it if it makes you feel more safe in any way,” he said and nudged her with his elbow. “And can you Imagine how cool it would be if people called you Ginny Lawson or Mrs. Lawson? Like being married to the King.”

“I’m not taking your name, Lawson.” she looked at him with furrowed brows. Ginny thought of all the ideas Mike had told her within last eight hours, and in her mind, this was the most delusional.

“No?” he had a slightly confused smile on his face, although Ginny knew he wasn’t really that surprised.

“No, Lawson,” she assured him. “But I’m Ok, if you want to take my name! Michael Baker?”

“Let’s talk about this later, Baker. I need to get ready for the game and so do you,” he ignored the comment and stood up.

“Fine, but if, a BIG if, we decide to go forward with this insane plan, we need to present the idea to everyone with good arguments. And you are going to help me with them!” Ginny got up and walked towards the door, grabbing her phone on the way.

“I promise,” he swore as he opened the door for Ginny.

“You better,” she replied and as she stepped out of his room, Dusty came around the corner. The man rolled his eyes at them.

“I don’t even wanna know!” Dusty said with a smirk on his face.

“This isn’t what it seems. We were talking about the game,” Mike tried to sound as believable as possible.

“Yeah, that’s what I always do when I’m in my hotel room with a woman, talk about the game,” he mimicked a gun with his fingers, pointing at the two players and made a clicking sound. With a wink of his eye he continued to his room, leaving Ginny and Mike stare behind him.

“Wonderful, now this is going to be the topic of the day at the practice,” Ginny huffed.

“Don’t worry. Soon we’ll be married and then it’s topic of the day, if we sleep in separate rooms,” Mike had an encouraging smile on his face

“I hate my life!” Ginny said as she turned on her heels and headed to her room few doors down the corridor.

“See you at breakfast!” She could hear Mike shout before closing his door.


	2. Facing opposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny and Mike face their friends and colleagues to tell them about their plans.

Two weeks of mulling over the decision of getting married had brought Ginny and Mike to Amelia’s downtown office on Monday morning. They had decided to go forward with the plan last Thursday and now they were ready to tell their agents, what was taking place tomorrow before the Rangers game. 

“Do you remember what we are going to say,” Ginny asked tugging the hem of her hoodie restlessly.

“It’s going to go fine, Baker. This isn’t my first rodeo. Trust me!” Mike sounded very convincing but when Ginny glanced at him, she could swear he was panicking just as badly as she was. 

“So, this isn’t the first time you tell your agent that you’re going to fake marry your team mate, me, because it was a good idea when we discussed it in your hotel room in the middle of the night while sleeping together without sleeping together? OH MY GOD, I need to get out of this elevator!” she felt she was going to have a panic attack any second.

“Hey, come here, Baker,” he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. “We’re going to be OK.”

“No, we’re not. They are going to kill us,” she was trembling against him.

“You’re the first woman in Major League. There’s nothing they can do to you. And if they try, we can always fire them.” He was giving her a mini version of his famous pep talks. 

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Mike stepped back and put his hands on her shoulders. “Ready?”

“No, but let’s do it anyway,” Ginny smiled hesitantly and stepped out with Mike right behind her.

Davis and Amelia were sitting in the conference room waiting for them. Neither of them looked happy. Mike thought it came with the occupation. If an agent didn’t know what was happening, there was no way he or she would be happy. They needed to have all the strings in their hands, like puppet masters. Mike opened the door for Ginny and let her step inside the room first. 

“Davis, Amelia,” Mike greeted the agents while Ginny just nodded at their direction. Mike pulled a chair for Ginny and sat next to her.

“Mike, Ginny,” Davis nodded at them and Amelia repeated the greeting.

“So why are we here today,” Amelia went straight to the business.

Ginny took a quick look at Mike, who seemed surprisingly calm and relaxed, compared to what he had first appeared like in the elevator. Almost like the speech he gave to her, had given confidence to himself as well.

“Well, you know how Ginny’s been the center of attention lately and not in good way,” Mike started. Ginny was grateful that he took the lead. She was sure she would run out the door, if she had to do the talking.

“Yes, she has encountered some unfortunate attention from slightly unstable people, but those things have been sorted,” Amelia said sounding harsh, even if it wasn’t her meaning. 

Mike nodded at her but the expression on his face told that he disagreed with Amelia.

“But for how long? Did you know that she’s afraid to sleep alone in hotels when we’re on a game trip in another town?” he pointed out, eyes fixed on Amelia’s. 

“But, like Amelia said, why are we here today,” Davis commented impatiently. 

Mike gave him a look that told him to shut up. Davis cleared his throat and looked at Ginny, who hadn’t said a word yet. She looked distressed and it made the agent think, that she was taking the stalker business more seriously than Amelia had let on. 

“All those assholes harassing Ginny seem to have same agenda. They want to be her savior. As if she needed saving from anything,” Mike looked at Ginny who nodded in agreement.

“So, long story short, to stop all kinds of creeps from pretending to be her savior, because she’s such a vulnerable girl, without anyone to take care of her, we’ve decided that she needs a personal firewall,” Mike continued, keeping his eyes fixed on the agents. Neither of them understood what he was talking about.

“So, you mean a body guard? She already has one,” Amelia said slightly confused.

“No, we don’t mean a body guard!” Mike snapped frustrated.

“What then?” Davis was as confused as Amelia.

“She needs someone who sends a message to these creeps, that she’s not some sad girl who needs their help to be safe. Because she already has someone to keep her safe, even if it’s not completely true,” Mike elaborated.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed as she listened to Mike. She had no idea what the man was saying, but Davis seemed like he was starting to realize what Mike meant. His eyebrows raised as he looked at Mike and Ginny. 

“Oh!” was the only thing he could say. 

“Oh, what?” Amelia asked. She was getting annoyed at this cryptic conversation they were having with Mike. “Is this some kind of sports talk I’m not fluent in?”

“He’s saying that we’re going to get married, so that everyone thinks that I’m not a single girl who needs saving or whatever it is that they think I need,” Ginny finally spoke.

For the first time in her long career as an agent, Amelia was speechless. She looked at the baseball players sitting opposite to her with her mouth open. She tried to say something but every word stuck to her throat. 

Mike took the opportunity to close the meeting. “We already got the marriage license from the county clerk’s office. The ceremony will take place tomorrow at Petco, and you’re both cordially invited. I’m sure you will write the press release about our happy day,” He said with a smile on his face. 

“You can’t do this!” Amelia got back her ability to speak. Although this was more yelling than speaking.

“You can’t stop us!” Mike replied with similar bluntness. “We’re not asking for permission, this was a mere announcement,” he continued with confidence in his voice.

“This is absurd! Did he talk you into this, Ginny?” Amelia refused to believe what she was hearing.

“No, he didn’t talk me into this! We talked and decided together about this. This is what I want to do,” Ginny refused to back down.

“Don’t you understand what this will do to your image? The confident woman, first woman in Major League marries her team mate, 12 years older team captain? No this is lunacy! I won’t accept this! Not under any circumstances!” Amelia was throwing the fit, Ginny had predicted a long ago. 

“It’s not your place to accept this. This is my life!” Ginny fought back. This wasn’t the first time she disagreed with her agent and certainly not the last time.

“Okay, okay! Let’s all calm down,” Davis interfered. “If this is what they are going to do, then this is what they are going to do. It is, what it is. It’s our job, mine and yours, Amelia, to minimize the damage, to make sure that this is seen in positive light. We need to spin this so that people are behind this.”

Amelia shut up, but she was fuming. Years of hard work and now this stubborn girl would go an undermine everything by marrying a middle aged, soon to be retired, egoistic alpha male. 

“Thanks, Davis. We’ll leave you to spin this then,” Mike said and stood up. He offered his hand to Ginny who took it happily. “And don’t forget, tomorrow at Petco, 2pm. No dress code!” he quipped from the doorway before escorting his future wife out of the office. 

As the elevator doors closed, both of them hunched down a little bit.

“That was the most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced, including my first game in MLB,” Ginny said sounding exhausted. 

“Does that also include the time I found out about the poster on your wall?” he asked seemingly casually and for a moment, took her mind off what had just happened.

She let out a desperate laugh. The expression on his face, when Will had blurted out about the poster at the Padres Christmas party, had been priceless. He had looked like someone, who had just discovered the existence of some mythical creature and had said, “So, it is true? I feel like the hunk of the year!”

“You mean, hunk of the year 2006. I was 14, my brains hadn’t yet fully developed. I wasn't thinking rationally” Ginny had corrected him.

“I have some nice, unpublished photos from the photo shoot we had in the summer, if you need a fresh copy of me on your wall,” he had winked at her, knowing that she knew exactly what kind of photos he was talking about. 

The memory of that conversation still made her blush. 

“Can we please not talk about that? I’m still traumatized about the whole thing,” she looked away so that he wouldn’t see her rosy cheeks.

“Now, I wouldn’t want my future wife to be traumatized,” he had to bite his lip to avoid smirking at her. 

“Amelia was not happy about this,” She steered the conversation back to the events of today. 

“Of course she wasn’t. All she thinks is your brand and your brand doesn’t include a marriage to a 37 year old catcher,” he put his hand around Ginny’s shoulder and pulled her closer, as if to remind her that he had her back. 

“Do you think she’ll show up tomorrow?” Ginny asked.

“She doesn’t have a choice, not if she is going to sell this as a good thing to the press and rest of the baseball world. She’s going to show up and smile and act like this is the best thing, that ever happened to Ginny Baker,” Mike sounded pleased with the idea that Amelia would have to swallow her pride and show support for them. Things had never been exactly well between him and Amelia after their short affair. She had always found a chance to snap at him for no real reason and this was now Mike snapping back at her. 

“And now we have to go to Petco and tell the guys what’s happening tomorrow. They are going to get a kick out of this,” Ginny directed her thoughts to their team mates.

“Without question. But they are going to be so flabbergasted, that it will take them a day or two to digest this. After that, the teasing will start. They will make our lives a living hell!” Mike smiled like he was anxiously waiting for the living hell part. 

“Are you enjoying this?” Ginny’s was looking at him with a face full of astonishment. 

“Hell yes! Aren’t you?” he couldn’t understand that Ginny wasn’t feeling like he was. This was the biggest adrenaline rush he had gotten in ages. 

“No, not really!” was all she could muster in response. 

\--

“Is everyone here,” Mike asked as he glanced around the clubhouse.

“All but Melky. He’s in Al’s office,” Dusty commented from his chair, without raising his eyes from his phone. 

“Well, he’ll just have to be filled in afterwards. There’s something you guys need to know,” Mike said and took a quick look at Ginny, who was standing next to him. “There’s going to be a small schedule change for tomorrow.”

“What change? I’m not doing extra workout,” Salvamini protested. 

“No, this is more about team relationships,” Mike promised.

“Whaaaaat?” The whole team responded in unison.

“One of those team spirit workshops again? I can’t take this!” Dusty groaned.

“No, not a workshop, I assure you,” Mike calmed them down. The man who never had trouble expressing his thoughts, was having hard time to put them into words this time. 

“What then? Is this some management gimmick again?” Dusty continued to protest.

“Well, it’s not a management gimmick either! Tomorrow at 2pm we’ll be having a small, let’s say, gathering,” Mike elaborated. 

“Gathering?” Melky asked as he walked in to the clubhouse.

“Melky! Yes, we’ll be having a small gathering tomorrow at 2pm. You and your team mates are cordially invited,” Mike smiled thankfully for getting unintentional help from his team mate.

“Cordially invited? Melky laughed at the phrase Mike had used. “Who’s getting married?” he continued, thinking that he was being funny.

“Ms. Ginny Baker and Mr. Mike Lawson,” Mike said and saw the disbelief on his team mates' faces. 

“Excuse me, what?” Blip asked, thinking that he had definitely heard wrong. 

“Ginny and I are getting married tomorrow,” Mike said once more to make it clear for everyone. He could feel Ginny squeeze his arm nervously.

“It’s not April fools,” Blip pointed out in disbelief.

“Yes, we know!” the smile on Mike’s face didn’t crack for a fraction of a second. 

“Are you guys joking,” Sonny asked, even though he kind of knew, that they weren’t.

“No, this is happening, 2pm tomorrow,” Mike was still smiling. 

“But why? You’re not in love,” Blip asked glancing over to Ginny who looked pale.

“We’re not in love with Ginny, but her stalkers don’t know that! We hope that this will make her crazy fans back down a bit. We’ll get a divorce quietly after a while, but right now this is the right thing to do. And we ask, that you won’t tell anyone about the real reason behind this. You can say no comment, if they ask you about us, but don’t tell them the real reason. This is for Ginny’s safety,” Mike explained the reasons behind their decision. 

“I get your point. But I have to say, this is crazy, even when it comes to your ideas,” Blip said and turned to Ginny. “This is Mike Lawson we’re talking about, Ginny. He’s got more women, than rest of the single team members combined.”

“What the hell, Blip? If I’m married to Ginny, then I’m married to Ginny! I wasn’t the one who’s infidelity wrecked my last marriage,” Mike raised his voice. Despite his recent philandering ways, he had been without sex for extended periods of time before. And he had thought about the fact of having to be without sex, when marrying Ginny, and decided that he would manage. This marriage would be over in no time. Besides, maybe it would be good to concentrate on the game for a change. 

“You know what I’m talking about, Mike! Women define your existence!” Blip yelled back. 

“Fuck you, Blip!” Mike was ready to physically attack him, when Ginny interrupted them. 

“Shut up, both of you!” 

The men looked at her and snapped their mouths shut. 

“I understand your concern, Blip, but this is my decision. And it’s happening,” she knew Blip wanted the best for her and she also understood why the man would consider this to be a bad idea. But it didn’t change the fact, that this was now reality. 

“I want you to tell me, Ginny, why you are doing this,” Blip looked at her with concern. He didn’t understand, that Ginny would do something as irresponsible as this. 

“I knew you would react like this. Like this is the stupidest thing we could do. This wasn’t an easy decision and I’m asking you to respect it. Mike’s my best friend and he’s doing this unbelievably generous and unselfish deed to keep me safe. How many of you have a friend who’d be willing to sacrifice as much for same reasons?” Ginny sounded so serious that no-one dared to doubt her.

The players looked at each other. The room was filled with best friends and they knew how difficult it would be for any of them to see their best friend suffering the way Ginny was. They might not agree on the way Ginny and Mike were dealing with the problem, but they understood that Mike couldn’t just sit by and watch his best friend to live in fear. 

“Well, then I will support your decision and will be there tomorrow dressed to the nines,” Blip said. Although he had his doubts about the whole thing, he didn’t want this to come between him and his friends. 

“Thank you,” Ginny dared to smile at him. “And dressed to the nines isn’t necessary. It’s a very informal ceremony.”

After little hesitation, Sonny stepped forward from the crowd. “Yeah, we’ll all be there. You can count on us,” he promised and rest of the team agreed with him. 

And with their team mates’ promises to attend the ceremony the next day, the wedding started to feel little more tangible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to write about people reacting to their news, knowing that no-one would take it lightly. I also think that if something like this happened between Bawson, with them being on the same team, their team mates would definitely tease them about being married. I'm planning on writing about that over the next two chapters. I can hear the wedding bells already.


	3. Getting hitched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mike and Ginny's "fake" big day!

 

 

Ginny sat on Mike’s clubhouse chair. She had gotten barely any sleep at night and had come early to Petco, thinking it would take her mind off things. But the same things that had kept her awake during the night, still occupied her thoughts, a telephone call with her mom in the evening about her irresponsible decision to marry Mike, her own fears of how people would react to this, what it would be like to live with him in his house, how would it change their relationship. The list of questions was endless.

“Hey,” Mike’s voice invaded her solitude. “You ready for today?” he asked warmly.

“Sure…” a spoken affirmation, but her countenance sent a different message.   

“You’re not too convincing,” his eyes narrowed.

“It’s just,” Ginny started but couldn’t find the words to finish her sentence 

“Are you having cold feet, Baker?” And he wouldn’t be surprised if she did. This was rushed, not entirely logical, and some might even argue, a completely insane move on their part. But at the same time, it was 100% what he wanted to do. He wouldn’t have suggested in the first place, if he didn’t.

“No, no… But I totally understand if you are and I don’t blame you if you want to cancel this,” she said, too afraid to look at him.

“And miss all the fun? Not a chance, missy!” He wasn’t going to give her an excuse to cancel this. No, he was being his usual, confident Mike Lawson, and it gave her confidence as well, made her smile. “So, do you have a wedding dress or are you getting married in your Padres uniform? I would totally understand, it’s white after all,” he tried to turn her smile into laughter, to make her forget her wedding jitters.

 “Of course I have a wedding dress. I wouldn’t have asked you to wear suit, if I didn’t,” she seemed a little offended by his question.

 “I don’t know what your wedding fantasies are, Baker. You might as well have been planning your wedding with me since you were 15, for all I know,” and finally he broke her barrier, making her giggle out loud.

 “Yes, because that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years, fantasizing about getting married with you in the Padres uniform.”

 “See, I knew it! But who could blame you, I’m one hell of a catch,” this was where he excelled at, making her smile and laugh.

 She shook her head amused, rolling her eyes at him. “See you later, Lawson!” She felt much more relaxed as she got up from the chair and headed to her private locker room.

 

\--

 

Ginny sat in one of the smaller suites at Petco, with Evelyn fussing around her.

 “I don’t understand how you could do this without consulting me first,” Evelyn scolded her.

 “This is just a small ceremony,” Ginny tried to calm her down.

 “A small ceremony? This is a wedding, not a small ceremony!” Evelyn corrected her and quite frankly, she considered it to be an insult to think otherwise.

 “A fake wedding!” Ginny reminded her. And this was the exact reason she hadn’t told Evelyn. She was trying to turn this into spectacle even when she had only1 hour to use. Had Ginny told her earlier, there would have been a wedding band, five course menu and lord knows what else.

 “No, it’s not a fake wedding. When you do this, you are LAWFULLY MARRIED to Mike Lawson. There’s nothing fake about that,” Evelyn got more and more worked up. “And by looking at that rock in your finger, Mike Lawson isn’t taking this lightly!”

 “This has to look real, including the ring!” Ginny defended her four-carat cushion cut diamond ring.

 “Oh, that looks real alright. Must have cost five times as much as my ring,” Ev, pointed out.

 “We’ll get a good price on it when we get a divorce. It’s a vintage Cartier,” Ginny looked at the ring. “And it’s not a real-real marriage,” she tried.

 “Real or real-real, you are getting married in 45 minutes and I need to make you look like million dollars by that time. Now, show me what terrible misjudgement of a dress you have bought for the occasion.”

 “It’s not terrible! It’s a pretty dress,” Ginny snapped at Ev as she took the dress from the garment bag and held it against herself for Evelyn to judge it. She looked at the ivory cocktail dress with long sleeves and matte sequins for a moment and nodded acceptingly.

 “You’re right, it’s a pretty dress and you’ll look wonderful in it. Now, let’s do your makeup and put you in that dress and Mike Lawson will think that he has died and ascended to heaven. When he sees you in that, it’s sealed, he’ll never want to divorce you. Mark my words,” Ev was nodding knowingly at Ginny, being sure she had the two figured out long before anyone else, including Ginny and Mike.

 Ginny let out a frustrated huff. Evelyn was trying to turn this wedding, this marriage, into something it wasn’t.

 “That’s not the purpose of this dress, Ev. I just want to look like bride on my wedding day. A civil ceremony bride, but bride none the less. This has to be convincing and who knows if this is the only wedding I’ll ever have,” she explained her motivations to wear the dress.

 “Don’t talk like that. If, IF you and Mike ever divorce, I guarantee, he won’t be your last husband. There’s a line of new suitors waiting behind your door as we speak,” Evelyn assured her. “Now, sit still and let me turn you into a bride.”

 

\--

 

“You sure about this,” Al asked from Mike.

 “Absolutely! And thanks for getting ordained so that you can officiate our wedding,” Mike was more concentrated making his tie look good, than answering Al.

 “You’re welcome. Maybe I can make this into career once I retire. You know, Padres themed weddings for fans,” Al contemplated and gave Mike some fatherly help in re-tying his tie.

 “Yeah, that could work,” Mike agreed, keeping his chin up, to allow Al correct the knot.

 “And that’s how you tie a tie properly, young man,” Al said as he finished his task. “So, ten minutes to go… You got the rings?”

 “Thanks, yeah… Here,” Mike took the rings from his pocket and handed them to Al. “You better keep them so that I won’t lose them.”

 “I’ll safeguard them with my life,” Al promised as he put them in his own pocket. “Ginny’s mom isn’t coming?”

 “No, but we didn’t expect her to. And her brother’s, I don’t know where he is,” Mike explained the situation.

 Mike looked around the Suite. Charlie and Oscar stood in the corner. They were surprisingly cool with the situation. When Mike and Ginny had told about the wedding, Charlie had said, “Ok, I can see the increase in the ticket sales, good for you and even better for us.” And Oscar’s reaction was the least they had expected. The man had sat behind his desk, sleeves rolled up, going through numbers. “Getting married? Fine, do what you want. I’ve got bigger problems here. Like how to increase the revenue by reducing expenses, when in reality everything costs more than it did yesterday.” Mike and Ginny had given each other a quick side-glance and agreed in silence, that this was probably the right moment to back out from the room.

 “I never expected those two to take this so well,” Mike said nodding at the management’s direction.

 “I think you have you now used your free pass for causing problems,” Al suggested.

 “Probably.”

 Padres started to pour in with Blip as the front man.

 “Well, well! The groom is looking dapper. Tie and all,” Blip noted when he saw Mike standing next to Al.

 The groom greeted Blip with a nod and when he saw that all their team mates were there, he welcomed them as well.

 “Thanks, everyone, for coming. We’re ready to start in few minutes… if the bride hasn’t changed her mind.”

 “Don’t you worry, Cap. She’s getting ready with Ev’s help and I can tell you she looked absolutely beautiful,” Blip told him. He still wasn’t fully behind this marriage, but after breaking the news to Ev and having a talk with her, he had decided to let it go. If you can’t change something, don’t fight it.  

 “Did she?” Mike couldn’t tone down his grinning. He really didn’t have an excuse to be this excited about this wedding.

 “And you know, I can’t stress enough, that if you fuck this up in any way, I will shred you into pieces,” Blip warned him with a friendly smile on his face.

 “Duly noted,” Mike acknowledged his ultimatum. He wasn’t going to argue about it because he had no intention to fuck anything up with Ginny. 

 Amelia and Davis interrupted their conversation.

 “Mike,” Amelia’s voice was cool, almost cold. She was a woman, who wasn’t happy with the state of things.

 “Amelia, Davis, you made it,” Mike greeted both agents.

 “Mike! We’ve got the press release. Do you want to go through it before the ceremony?” Davis said and took the paper from his inside pocket. They were interrupted by Ev, who rushed in to the Champions Suite.

 “Ready? Ginny’s ready!” She asked giving a glance around the room, stopping at Mike and Al.

 “Everyone seems to be here, so why not!” Mike said, with his heart making few extra jolts in his chest.

 “OK, let’s get this started. Yay!” She added just to make sure everyone knew how excited she was, grabbed Blip by his arm and disappeared with him into the corridor. Few seconds later she came back, followed by Ginny, with Blip walking her down the aisle. When Mike heard his team mates’ reaction and saw Al’s face, he knew what to expect. It made him even more nervous than he had already been. Few seconds later Ginny stopped by his side and he glanced at her. He had always thought that Ginny was beautiful, but this Ginny that stood beside him, was breathtaking.

 “You wore a tie for me,” Ginny whispered touching Mike’s grey tie, knowing that the man hated them.

 “Anything for you,” he winked at her.

 “Ready?” Al asked and looked at Ginny and Mike. Both nodded and Ginny grabbed Mike’s hand nervously. He squeezed it to reassure her that everything was going to go OK.

 This was going to be as informal wedding as could be with Al as the master of the ceremony. He looked at his peers, smiled at them and then looking at Mike and Ginny, he put the written paper back to his pocket. He was going to wing it.

 “I had written this down, but now that I look at Ginny and Mike, I feel like doing this without too much planning, is better,” his words made the entire room laugh. Nothing Al could have said, would have been more accurate with this wedding and he continued. “We are here today amongst family, in a place most of us consider home away from home. This has been Mike’s home for almost two decades, Ginny’s home for a year now and who wouldn’t want to celebrate their wedding with their family and in a place, that’s home to them? Mike and Ginny, who are amongst other things, each other’s best friends and team mates, have chosen to embark on this journey because they love each other and want to support and protect one another on every step of their lives. Their shared love for the game has brought them here today and it’s only natural that their extended family, the Padres, are here to share this day with them.”

 Ev was crying against Blip’s shoulder, missing most of what Al was saying, while Blip did his best to sooth her. Al went on with his speech and when Ev heard him say the word “vows”, the sniffling ended. She had been sure that they would skip that part, but no. This was too good to be true.

 Ginny looked at Mike.

 “Mike, my grumpy bear. I used to have your poster on my wall when I was a teenager and you were already an old man. I always wished that one day I’d meet you, but I never expected that a girl could play with you in the Majors. I did meet you and made a friend in the process and I did get to play with you and it changed my life. You are my mentor, my friend, my biggest critic, my unwavering supporter and I love you for all those reasons. You’ve been there when I’ve had a rough time, when I’ve needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to laugh with. I have found a soulmate in you, formed a lifelong bond with you and I thank you for being part of my life, now and forever” Ginny pursed her lips together and gave Mike that goofy smile he liked so much.

He replied with an encouraging wink. This was going well so far. And now it was his turn.  

 “Ginny, when I first heard that you were joining our team, I thought it was joke. A girl in the Major League? But to be honest, you had me at that ass slap when we first met. Since then it’s been very clear to me, that no matter what, you and I will always have a connection on some level. And today the idea of not having you in my life, as my team mate, is unimaginable. You know how much I care about you and love you. You’re my best friend and that will never change. You can trust me to be there to catch your pitches, even when you can’t aim them, just like I can trust you to be there, when I need you. Because that’s what your person does for you. And you’re my person, Ginny, always.”

 Mike’s words made Ginny cry. She wrapped her hands around his neck and he rubbed her back to sooth her.

 “Hey, don’t cry, pumpkin,” he whispered.

 “I’m not done yet,” Al interrupted their mid-ceremony cuddling.

 “Sorry, go on,” Ginny wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

 Al smiled at them playfully. “Will you, Ginny, keep Michael as your favorite person and team mate to laugh with him, support him through life's and game’s tough moments, be proud of him and find new reasons to love him every day, no matter how grumpy he is?"

 “I will!” Ginny answered wiping her eyes.

 “Will you, Michael, keep Ginny as your favorite person and team mate to laugh with her, support her through life's and game’s tough moments, be proud of her and find new reasons to love her every day, no matter how badly she aims her pitches?”

 “I will!” Mike promised eagerly.

 Al took the rings from his pocket. “Let these rings signify to the world, that you have found your soulmate in each other,” he handed the bigger ring to Ginny.

 “Michael, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and respect. May it remind you always that you are surrounded by my love," she repeated the words she had memorized dozens of times for this moment.

 She put the ring on Mike’s finger, making their team mates hum loudly. Mike shot a glance at them but this bunch wasn’t going to let them off the hook so easily. They managed to stay silent while Mike repeated his words to Ginny.

 “Ginny, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and respect. May it remind you always that you are surrounded by my love.”

 As he put the ring on Ginny’s finger the guys gave them a spontaneous applauds and whistles.

 “And now by the power vested in me by the laws of the state of California, I pronounce you Husband and Wife!” Al declared.

 “Kiss her, you wimp,” someone commented loudly.

 “Yeah, kiss her!” Rest of the team demanded aggressively.

 Mike looked at Ginny, not knowing what to do. Would she be okay with him kissing her? They had almost kissed once and she had backed away. This circumstance was very different from that one. Then he saw her smirk at him, followed with almost unrecognizable nod. He leaned slightly forward and pressed his lips on hers. It was as a short, chaste exchange between friends.

 “Do you need some help with that kiss, or what?!?” The crowd insisted.

 “Fuck it,” Ginny thought, she wanted a proper wedding kiss. AFTER ALL, this might just be the only time she ever got married. She wrapped her hands around Mike’s neck and went full steam ahead, crashing her lips forcefully on his, kissing him like she had just married her Prince Charming. And who was Mike to oppose that? He took a tight grip of Ginny and lifted her in the air, kissing her back just as keenly.

 Sonny looked at the couple with narrowed eyes. He had his trademark “Gimme a break”-expression on his face as he nudged Dusty with his elbow. “If those two aren’t going to turn this into a real marriage by the end of season, I’ll eat a hat full of shit.”

 “They do seem awfully enthusiastic for being fake married,” Dusty commented shaking his head “I hope someone’s getting this on camera.”

 

\--

 

Every word Al, Ginny or Mike had said during the ceremony was true. Everyone acknowledged that, even Amelia and Davis. Ginny and Mike might not be in love with each other in the traditional sense, but there was love between them.

 “It was a nice ceremony,” Amelia said politely when it came their turn to congratulate the newlyweds.

 “Yes, it was. We have the press release, if you want to go through it. When do you want us to send it out?” Davis asked handing Mike the written paper.

 “Not before the game,” Ginny asked, seeking Mike’s approval with her eyes

 “No, not before the game! Around seventh inning or so?” Mike suggested, his hand protectively around her waist. He could sense how fidgety she was, with the hardest part of the day still ahead.

 “During the game?” Davis rechecked.

 “Yes, let them chew on the news a little before they attack us with their questions,” Mike was sure this was the best way to do it.

 Davis looked at Ginny to get her confirmation as well. She nodded at him. “Yes, seventh inning.”

 “Ok, read the statement though and let us know if there’s anything you want to change. It’s short and delivers the message,” Davis looked at Amelia, who agreed with him.

 Ginny sat on one of the couches and Mike settled next to her. She unfolded the paper and held it so that Mike could read it too. They had agreed with Charlie Graham and Oscar, that the press release would come out from the Padres rather than from Mike and Ginny, and the agents had written it from the Padres’ perspective.

 “ _The Padres management has a pleasure to announce that the Team’s long serving captain, Mike Lawson and his team mate, Ginny Baker, have been married today at Petco Park in a small civil ceremony, witnessed by their colleagues, agents and close family members. What begun as a friendship, has evolved into love and has now been sealed with matrimony. We wish Mike and Ginny all the best in their future lives together and we are thrilled to have their new family as part of our bigger family, the Padres.”_

 “It’s a good statement,” Ginny said, looking at Mike.

 “Yeah, it is,” he wrapped his arm around Ginny and squeezed her gently. “I’m strangely happy we’re married, Ginny Baker,” he whispered so quietly that no-one else could hear it.

 “I’m happy, but also terrified,” Ginny’s voice was trembling.

 “Don’t be, I’ve got your back, like I just promised,” Mike reminded her.

 “I know you do,” Ginny was so thankful for having someone like Mike in her life.

 “Ok, let’s do this. Let’s play the game of being married,” Mike said and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She nodded and they got up to face their new lives as a married couple.


	4. Dugout and dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news about the wedding breaks out and the newlyweds have dinner with friends

Mike stood next to Ginny in the dugout. The sixth inning was closing to its end and both were painfully aware of what it meant.

 “What if they ask why I fell in love with you? I should be able to answer that without hesitation,” Ginny asked and Mike could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“Just tell them it was because of my wonderful personality,” he wasn’t going to add to her worries by showing her that he was just as anxious as her.

“I’m being serious,” she made an angry face at him, urging him not to joke about the matter.

“So am I!” The cheerful expression on his face contradicted with his words.

“No but really! And if they ask you to kiss me in front of the cameras…” Ginny started and her face went blank. “Would they do that?” She continued gravely.

“You can bet your ass they would,” he let out a guttural laugh.

“They would? Why?” She wasn’t excited about the idea and she didn’t understand why anyone would ask something like that.

“Ginny, you’re the first woman in Major League, who also just married her team mate, the team captain, this is  _the_  baseball story of the century. They are going to ask the craziest things from us, mark my words,” Mike sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And he had almost 20 years of experience in dealing with sports media, so he probably did know what they were up against.

“Well why didn’t you say this before we got married?” Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. She had never enjoyed the questions and now they would be pouring in.

“Hey, hey, I’ll do most of the talking. You know how much I love my own voice. Besides, I wouldn’t let anything happen to my wife! I’ll keep you safe,” he tried to calm her down but she just huffed in frustration.

“So, the press release goes out during the next inning?” Blip interrupted their conversation.

“Yep, I can’t wait what kind of a shit storm it will cause.” Mike directed his attention to Blip.

“My guess, pretty massive,” Blip looked at Ginny, who didn’t seem too keen about the idea. “So, the guys are asking if you are going to join the team for dinner after the game? They’d like to turn it in to wedding reception for you two,” he steered the conversation in a different direction.

“Wedding reception, huh? That’s not necessary!” Mike replied, thinking that Ginny didn’t feel like going. Or more accurately, he didn’t feel like going.

“No, it’s not necessary, but they’d like to do it anyway! They already reserved an Italian restaurant for the occasion.” Blip explained the situation. He’d hate to break it to the guys that there wouldn’t be a wedding dinner. Besides they had gotten them a present and all.

“Of course, we’d love to come,” Ginny promised him. She wasn’t going to disappoint her team mates after they all showed up at the wedding, even if she knew that they would undoubtedly give them hard time during the dinner.

“Good, the restaurant is reserved for us for the entire evening. So, once you’ve gotten through the sharks after the game, we’ll head there.” Blip was happy that he didn’t have to break the bad news to the guys.

 

\--

 

The minutes passed slowly as Ginny sat next to Sal on the bench and stared at the “7”, indicating the inning on the scoreboard.

“Time flies, when you’re having fun?” Sal winked at her. She let out a deep breath in reply.

“I think it’s courageous what you are doing. Others might say that you should face these disturbing fans with chin held high and act like it doesn’t affect you. But how could you do that, when it takes such a toll on your life. I’m glad you have Mike, who would do something like this to keep you safe,” he said with such sincerity that it made a tear escape from the corner of Ginny’s eye. Maybe she was little over emotional because of all that had happened during the day.

“Thanks, Sal. That really means a lot to me! He’s been such a good friend for me and what he’s doing, is something I can never repay him. And he doesn’t expect me to. That’s how good of a man he is,” Ginny said wiping her eye on her sleeve.

“And thanks for letting us have this dinner with you. This is our way of showing, that we support what you’re doing,” Sal gave her a friendly rub on the back.

“You showing up to the wedding today, was support enough,” she smiled at him.

At the same time the sportscaster had to read the text on his screen three times before he fully comprehended what he was reading.

“I have just received a statement… It’s originally from the Padres management,” he started but had to take a break and read it once more so that he was absolutely sure, that he wasn’t giving misinformation to the viewers. “…It says that Mike Lawson and Ginny Baker got married today at Petco Park. The original statement can be read on the Padres homepage… I don’t know how to react to this information… It’s a big news, I can tell you that! I don’t know, if anyone even knew those two were dating,” the bafflement could be heard on his voice

Then the commotion at the grandstands started. Everyone’s phone seemed to be beeping to alert for news feeds or messages and for a moment people were more interested in their phones than the game.

Mike stood by the dugout stairs and kept his gaze fixed on the game when Blip leaned against the railing, facing him.

“I think they know,” Blip commented casually, hands crossed.

“I think you’re right,” Mike replied with similar tone.

“They definitely know,” Blip corrected his words, when he saw that most of the TV cameras were being turned towards the dugout.

“You’re definitely right!” Mike tried very hard to keep his face neutral, not to show any emotion.  

“Just act cool! Although, it may be that you two shouldn’t play anymore during this game,” Blip continued in almost indifferent tone.

“Could be a show worth watching for,” Mike replied, but he knew that Blip was right.

“It’s your funeral! Rangers are going to have a field day with you two, if you go there. Just a friendly advice. I’ll go see how your wife is coping!” Blip quipped and headed to the bench where Ginny was sitting next to Sal. “How you doing, Ginny?” He sat on her other side.

“I think I’m going to crap my pants any minute now,” Ginny looked and sounded stressed.

“No point doing it anymore, shit has already hit the fan, Ginny,” Blip offered his opinion, accompanied with a sly smile.

“Yeah, now all you can do, is scrape it off the walls,” Sal chuckled on her other side.

“Thanks, guys!” Ginny rolled her eyes at her team mates, but they just kept on laughing at her.

Mike glanced over his shoulder to see Ginny. When he saw that she was wedged between Blip and Sal, he decided that it was time to take the bull by the horns. They needed to show, that the press release was accurate and not some internet troll having time of his life at the Padres’ expense. He walked over to them and tilted his head slightly.

“Mike? What’s up?” Blip asked cheerily.

“Could I have a word with my wife?” Mike seemed relaxed, but Blip knew him well enough to see that he was agitated underneath his cool exterior.

“Yeah, sure,” Sal said and gave him just enough room to sit next to her. Mike squeezed himself between Ginny and Sal.

“In private,” he pointed out when neither Blip or Sal made any effort to leave them alone.

“Sorry, there’s no such thing as privacy in the dugout,” Blip explained with a wide grin on his face.

“Really?” Mike looked at the two men and received a nod from them. “Fine.”

“What’s up?” Ginny sounded nervous, not knowing what Mike had in mind.

“Should we call a moving company to get your stuff from the hotel to my… our place?” He asked, knowing that Ginny had only her overnight bag with her at Petco that day. Surely, she would need the rest of her stuff sooner or later.  

“You mean all five boxes I have waiting for moving?” She reminded him of her modest possessions. “They’ll fit nicely in the back of you truck.”

“God, I just love women who travel light,” he placed his hand on Ginny’s thigh, without thinking about it.

“Oh-oh, big mistake,” Sal declared knowingly from his seat.

“What?” Mike asked, but he got his answer when 40.000 people applauded them. He felt Ginny’s leg tense up under his touch.

“You two are on the screen, lover boy,” Blip’s words sounded both merciless and compassionate.

Mike wasn’t going to take his hand off. This was good, this was the assurance that the news was real.

“Are you going to fondle me in front of a full stadium for very long?” Ginny enquired with her eyes fixed on Mike’s.

“Just long enough, to make sure they know this is real,” he promised. The sound level kept rising, giving them a good hint, that the message had been received.

“I think they got the idea already,” Sal practically had to yell to be heard over the 40.000 spectators making noise.

Mike kept his hand on Ginny’s thigh when he turned to look at Sal. “You think?” He shouted over the whistling, that had started by then. They had rarely heard this kind of racket at the stadium.

“I think so too,” Ginny commented moving Mike’s hand from her thigh as she stood up. The sound of full stadium roaring made her tremble slightly.

“Then my job here is done,” Mike chuckled silently, fighting the urge to slap her ass.

 

\--

 

Amelia and Davis had been managing the media frenzy from the moment the press release went out. Mostly they refrained from “ _commenting on their clients’ personal lives_ ”, but threw few bones for the reporters to be satisfied.

“This seems to come out of the blue, was this a quick decision? When did they tell about this?” One of them wanted to know.

“They have been together for some time now and this is something they felt was right thing to do,” Amelia commented.

“Right thing to do? Is Ginny pregnant?” Was the only conclusion the reporters could come up with, after hearing Amelia’s answer.

“No, she is not pregnant. She is concentrating on her career. I’m simply saying, they found their other halves, and considered it pointless to wait before getting married,” Amelia cleared the misunderstanding immediately. They didn’t need any internet sites writing about Ginny being pregnant. That would be even bigger and unwanted turn of events, than the fake marriage.

“Will they talk to us after the game?”

“They can give you five minutes. I just heard that they are having a dinner with their team mates after the game,” Davis promised.

The flood of questions was never ending and both agents truly earned their paycheck that day. By the time the game ended, they had answered to around 100 questions and they thanked the reporters before taking their leave. Inside Management suite they slumped on the couch.

“This better not bite our asses,” Amelia said taking a sip of water.

“What they are doing, might seem irrational, but I can see some kind of reasoning behind this,” Davis tried to assure Amelia that this wasn’t the end of the world.

“I hope you’re right. I’m just going to sit here until the entire Stadium is empty and I can walk to my car without being asked a question,” she stated tiredly, kicking her high heels off.

 

\--

 

Mike looked at his team mates go about their business in the clubhouse, drying their hair, getting changed, toying with their phones. Just another normal evening after the game.

“Hey,” Ginny said touching his arm softly.

“Are you ready?” He asked from her.

“Definitely not,” Ginny’s voice was trembling.

“I’ve got your back, remember? Just lean on me,” he said knowing what kind ordeal this was for Ginny.

“Let’s do this,” she said and stepped forward. Mike walked right behind her to the clubhouse door. The press had been ordered to wait outside today. A wise decision, knowing what kind of circus it would have been, had they been allowed inside the clubhouse.

Mike opened the door for Ginny and they stepped outside. The noise on the concrete elements echoed so loudly that none of them could hear a single word that was said. Ginny felt she was going blind from the flashes and the world started to spin around her. Mike’s touch on her shoulder reminded her how he had promised to be there for her and now he was. And she felt easier to breathe again.

“Okay!” Mike tried to get the mob to quiet down. But it took Al to walk outside the clubhouse to get them in order.

“I’ve been in this business for 45 years and I have never heard such a commotion over a wedding! Quiet down and ask your questions one at a time, if you want to get any answers!” Al ordered firmly.

The herd settled and Al gazed at them. “That’s better, Lonnie, you first,” he pointed at a more senior sports reporter.

“Congratulations! And how long have you two been together? And why get married now?”

“Thank You! We’ve been together for a while and us getting married now is just something we wanted to do.” Mike answered.

“How did he propose to you, Ginny?” Someone else asked.

“That’s private,” Ginny said with her thoughts on that night, when Mike had offered to be her fake husband. She was pretty sure the reporters didn’t want to hear a recap of that.

“Will you show us your ring?” There was always one reporter, even in such a testosterone filled surroundings, who wanted to see the ring.

Ginny put her hand hesitantly in front of her for the reporters to see the wedding ring. She was overwhelmed by attention she was getting. She had faced the media madness before, but that had been nothing compared to this. Before it had been mostly about baseball, this was about her personal life and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. And Mike seemed so calm next to her, chewing his gum. She had always admired his confidence in front of the media. Even now he seemed like he was on top of his game.

Then the dreaded request of a kiss came and at that moment, Ginny was happy they had shared a wedding kiss earlier. Otherwise this situation would have been too awkward. Mike on the other hand was thinking that he should have gotten rid of the gum before coming out the clubhouse. Now he just had to settle biting the gum with his back teeth to keep it from wondering in his mouth. He gave Ginny a gentle kiss that tasted like Wrigley’s Big Red and surprised her with it. He saw her eyes widen slightly at the cinnamon kiss and he winked at her, making her blush in front of the cameras.

“Awww…” even the male reporters shared the reaction.

“Happy, everyone? Okay, we are having dinner with our team mates and we don’t want to keep them waiting,” Mike said with his hand gently on her hip to assure her everything was fine.

The reporters congratulated them as they were about to return to the clubhouse.

“Thanks,” Ginny nodded at them and let Mike lead her back inside the clubhouse.

“Okay, the show’s over,” Al stayed behind them and shooed the reporters away from the corridor.

Ginny headed to her locker room while Mike stopped next to Blip.

“Well, that was something,” Blip commented, as he watched the TV screen feeding the picture from outside the clubhouse door.

“It was, but now it’s done. We’ll just get changed for the dinner,” Mike replied with his hands on his hips.

“Take your time. The guys will go there ahead of us, but I’ll wait and drive you there,” Blip promised.

 

 

\--

 

The restaurant had barely room for the entire Padres team. It made the situation feel like family gathering and that’s what this essentially was. Mike and Ginny considered this to be a family dinner, but the Team had decided, that this was a wedding reception and they were going to have a blast at the newlyweds’ expense.

Once everyone had their plates in front of them, Blip stood up with a glass of Champagne .

“Ginny, Mike, you have no idea how much your happiness means to us. I hope this dinner shows you a glimpse of that.” Blip said and everyone knocked on the table. “So, here’s to Ginny, I don’t know what you were thinking, and Mike, I don’t know how you convinced Ginny into doing this, but hey, congratulations!” He toasted, with everyone joining him.

“Thanks, Blip,” Mike had a sarcastic smile on his face. He had a feeling this was just a beginning of something less than wonderful.

“Here’s to all future mini Mikes and Ginnys you will procreate,” Stubbs wished them, raising his glass.

The married couple sat next to each other rolling their eyes and thinking that the being flabbergasted part was over and the roasting had started.

“I hate you guys,” Ginny said, knowing that this was something she just had to suffer. Mike was squeezing her thigh under the table for invisible support.

“And Mike, keep your hands to yourself while on the job, no fondling your wife in the dugout, kissing her on the mound in front of 40.000 thousand spectators, or talking dirty to her when reporters are around with their tiny voice recorders,” Sal reminded the captain.

“I will do my best to avoid such lapses or judgment,” Mike promised. This was now his life and there was no escaping.

The roasting lasted until they had finished the desserts and everyone had given them some golden piece of advice or humiliated them with their toast speeches and made them want to die of mutual shame. But they had expected this and once it was over, they could breathe again.

“I bet you thought that we were done already,” Blip stood up from his chair, when the waiter took Ginny’s and Mike’s plates away.

Both Mike and Ginny exhaled deeply, not knowing what to expect.

“This wouldn’t be a proper wedding, if we didn’t have a gift for you,” Blip explained and Sonny got up as well. He took the gift box from inside a paper bag and carried it over to Ginny and Mike.

“Congratulations from all of us,” Sonny said and placed the box on the table.

Neither of them dared to open it. They looked at the present, which was slightly bigger than a shoe box, in fear. The team waited patiently. Everyone knew how much they dreaded to open the present, but what made them smirk, was the fact that from all the attention Mike and Ginny had received from them today, in the end, this was probably the most harmless one.

“Man up, Lawson,” Dusty urged the captain.

“I don’t know if I want to,” was his immediate response.

“C’mon Ginny, show your husband who’s got the balls in your family,” Dusty continued.

“This evening, he’s got the balls,” Ginny insisted, being sure that the present was something so horrible, that she wouldn’t be able to show her face in the clubhouse for months.

“Okay, let’s do this together,” Mike said looking at Ginny and received a nod in return.

They untied the bow and lifted the box cover. Ginny peeked inside the box and brought her hand on her mouth. She was laughing and only then Mike dared to follow her example and looked inside the box. He found himself staring at two neatly rolled Padres home jerseys. What made them so special, was the fact that the other one had “MR. BAKER” and the other one “MRS. LAWSON” written on the back. He chuckled at the present and took the one with “MR. BAKER” to his hand. It had number 36 on its back just as he had imagined.

“Boy, am I glad that Major League doesn’t allow the players to use wrong names in their game jerseys. Otherwise you would make us wear these tomorrow, right?” He said relieved.

“Actually, that’s not true,” Al said from his own seat.

Ginny turned her head to Al, thinking that he couldn’t be serious.

“The official MLB uniform rules say that  _Any name other than the last name of the player must be approved by the League President_. So, I’m assuming it’s Bill Giles who does the decision, since MLB doesn’t have a president and Giles is the Honorary President of National League,” Al corrected the wrong belief.

Mike’s eyes widened in disbelief. Now he was officially scared. He squeezed Ginny’s hand so hard she had to kick him in the ankle to make him loosen his grip.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked quietly.

“Bill Giles is Al’s daughter’s godfather,” he whispered.

“Please don’t say that,” Ginny whimpered. “There’s no way I’m going to wear that jersey in a game.”

Blip looked utterly surprised. “Is that so?” He directed his words to Al. “Well, whaddya know? And as it happens, Al is all buddy-buddy with Mr. Giles! Should you call him, Al?” He added theatrically.

Al took his phone from his pocket and put his reading glasses on.

“Ok, that’s not necessary,” Mike interrupted. The expression on his face said it all, the man was terrified.

“Oh, it’s not a problem, I have him here on speed dial,” Al said waving his phone.

“It’s really not necessary,” Ginny repeated Mike’s words with a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

“Everyone, quiet, I’m calling him,” Al hushed, pretending to push the green call symbol.

Mike let his head fall down against the wall behind him. He was ready to suffer just about anything, but being made to look like a dick in Bill Giles’ eyes, was not one of them.

“It’s ringing,” Al commented while holding the phone against his ear.

Ginny had buried her head in her hands and kept making low whining sound.

“He’s not answering,” Al gave a status update while the rest of the guys were biting their lips to avoid laughing.

“That’s fine. You don’t need to wake an 80year old man for this,” Mike pleaded.

Blip couldn’t keep his poker face anymore. He burst into laughter and rest of the team cracked up as well.

“We’re just bullshitting you,” Blip kept on laughing.

Ginny’s head snapped up. “You are the most horrible team mates I’ve ever had!” She exclaimed, while Mike was just shaking his head.  

“But we got you, didn’t we?” Sonny was so proud of their prank.

“And Al, the fact that you would stoop yourself to their level,” Ginny said, not being able to hold her laughter back anymore. Al got up from his chair and headed to Ginny.

“Yeah, it was a good one,” Mike agreed.

Al hugged Ginny and got a kiss on the cheek from her. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I had to do it.”

“I Know,” Ginny said and hugged him back.

“Okay, guys, it’s been fun but it’s getting late and we all have a workday tomorrow,” Mike said and got up from his chair. Ginny followed him and stood next to him.

“Thanks for the dinner everyone! And the gift,” Ginny thanked their team mates. “I love you all, despite everything that you’ve put us through tonight!”

“We love you too!” The guys responded.

“And don’t make babies all night long! We have a day game tomorrow!” Dusty kept on teasing them.

“You know I’m an old man. My stamina won’t last more than five minutes,” Mike brushed off his comment with humor.

After few hugs and kisses everyone made their way home.

Ginny sat next to Mike in the backseat of their Uber and rubbed her arms.

“Are you cold?” Mike asked and gave her his jacket. He was already acting like a proper husband, making sure his wife was OK.

“Thanks,” Ginny pressed her head against his shoulder.

“Go ahead, take a nap. It’ll take half an hour to get home,” he whispered.

“Maybe I,” she started but nodded off before finishing her sentence.

He watched her sleep and smiled. At that exact moment, he refused to admit there was anything strange or wrong with the fact that he was Ginny’s husband and they were heading home after their wedding dinner. Right now, this felt like the only logical thing in the world.

The Uber dropped them off and Mike opened the door for Ginny.

“Welcome home,” he wished her and received a warm smile in return. “I’ve got your room ready for you,” he continued as they stepped inside their home.

“Thanks, I’m so tired I could die,” she was happy he had done this small deed that meant the world to her.

He ushered her to her new bedroom, placed her overnight bag on the bed and left her do the unpacking.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” he told her from the door.

“Okay,” she nodded tiredly as she was opening the bag. Once Mike closed the door, she undressed and put much more comfortable PJ’s on. She washed her face and brushed her teeth before going downstairs, where she found Mike watching TV.

“Hey,” she said not knowing how to be around him in his, their home.

“Hey,” he greeted her “Wanna watch TV with me?”

“I think I’ll go to bed. I just wanted to say thank you for today.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he responded softly, a smile on his lips.

“But I’ll do it anyway, so thank you,” she wanted to be sure, he knew how much she appreciated what he had done.

“You’re welcome. Do you want me to wake you up in the morning?”

“No, I’ve got my phone set to alarm at 7am. Goodnight!” She wished before heading back upstairs.

“Goodnight!” He wished back at her.

In her bedroom Ginny curled up under the sheets and closed her eyes.

“Not exactly what I imagined my wedding night to be,” she thought to herself and let out a silent giggle before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official MLB uniform rules does say that any name other than the last name of the player must be approved by the League President but I'm really not sure if the decision would be made by Bill Giles in reality and would he even approve such a name change just for one game.


	5. Under the same roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny and Mike adjust to living together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who have left a Comment or Kudos for the previous chapters. This is only the second story I've ever published and your positive feedback gives me courage to continue.

Ginny set the plates on the table and glanced over to the kitchen, where Mike was busy making dinner. After three ruined breakfasts, she had been demoted to table setting duty weeks ago and wasn’t allowed anywhere near the stove. Kitchen had never been her natural habitat, so she didn’t mind being ordered to keep away from there. Mike, however, seemed to like cooking, which had come as surprise to her after she moved in his house.

Being married and living together with Mike surprised Ginny in many ways. In just five weeks she had learned a whole array of new things about him. She had always thought that she had him pretty much figured out, but instead, she found out that the public Mike, self-assured, cocky and somewhat egotistic guy was very different from the private Mike, who could let his guard down. There was still that smart-ass attitude that made him who he was, but at home he wasn’t afraid to show the softer, more insecure side of himself, the side that liked having someone around to share his thoughts with or wanted to be cared and loved for and to be told that not being perfect was perfectly fine. And that was the side Ginny loved, the slightly hesitant grump, who rather watched TV and drank beer than boasted with his achievements, couldn’t hide how much he enjoyed spending time with her or how it pleased him when Ginny complimented his cooking, even if it was just pasta with sauce.

“I hope the food is as delicious as it smells,” she commented the good smell coming from the kitchen.

Mike wasn’t a Michelin star chef, who could master the most difficult dishes. His forte was in making a proper home cooked meal and having Ginny around was a good reason to toil in the kitchen more often. She was also the first person, other than himself, he had ever really cooked for. Rachel had never trusted his cooking skills and had been more of a fine dining enthusiast anyway. Mike sure as hell had never cooked for his one night stands or more regular hook ups, for that matter. And friends? According to him, having a barbecue didn’t count as cooking. That’s why it made all the difference to him, when she said something nice about the food.

 “Wanna taste?” He asked over his shoulder, smile wrinkles appearing on the corners of his eyes.

“Sure,” Ginny walked over to him. He lifted the ladle close to her mouth and she took a small taste of the pasta sauce.

“It’s good,” she nodded approvingly.

“Doesn’t need more spices or herbs, cilantro maybe?” His nose wrinkled with his teasing smile.

“Oh, you’re trying to be funny,” she faked a laugh at him.

“No cilantro then?” He asked as if to confirm the negative vibe he was getting from her and Ginny affirmed it by shaking her head.

“Why didn’t I know before, that you liked cooking?” She wondered.

“I don’t know. I guess it just never came up,” he shrugged his shoulder.

“You surprise me every day. Am I going to find out one day, that you’re a ballroom dance champion or something shady like that?”

“I’m not admitting anything! Now, let’s eat, before the food gets cold,” he motioned towards the table.

This was still new for Ginny, eating a home cooked meal, not needing to be fancy about it. She had been living off hotel and restaurant food for so long that dinner at home had become almost luxury for her. And it was refreshing that the tables on that matter had started to turn now. Eating at home was quickly becoming the standard when they weren’t on a game trip.

“This is nice, staying at home and having dinner,” she said, peering him under her eyelashes.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. Having dinner at home with Ginny, wearing sweatpants and old t-shirt felt more right, than he had ever felt going out to Nobu with Rachel and the thought scared him. He wasn’t supposed to be this happy in his fake marriage. He wasn’t supposed to enjoy making Ginny happy with a home cooked meal. Still, he was.

“I could get used to this, having home cooked meal on regular basis,” she said, reminding him how all this was just temporary.

“I’ll always cook for you, when you want me to,” he promised without hesitation.

“Really?” Ginny smiled, not being able to hide how pleased she was.

“Yes, really! I like having someone to eat with,” he sounded little surprised that Ginny hadn’t noticed it. In a way, his response revealed also how he wasn’t expecting to have a meaningful relationship any time soon after his and Ginny’s fake one.

“Well, I like having dinner with you too, so you better keep cooking for me, old man” she replied, wanting him to know that he’d always have her to share a meal with.

This affirmation made them lapse into a contented silence. It was good to know that the foreseeable divorce wouldn’t ruin their friendship. They had formed a strong bond long before the marriage and living together seemed to only strengthen it. They were always going to be in each other’s lives, like they had promised in their vows. Satisfied smiles remained on their faces as they finished the dinner and cleared the table.

Standing next to Mike, doing the dishes with him, made Ginny think how everything had fallen into place so easily. He washed the pans, she dried them, she left her stuff all over the place, he picked them up after her, he moped about everything, including Ginny’s belongings lying around the house and Ginny tried to lift his spirits with her geriatric ward jokes. It was like on the job, both were needed to keep the balance.

Maybe it was having the same daily routines, that made adjusting to living together effortless. It was practical to have breakfast and train together, take the same car to work and home and all these things helped them, when they were learning to live under the same roof. And them spending time with one another didn’t stop to the practical things. They had an ongoing Air Hockey tournament that had lasted for the past three weeks. Ginny was losing big time, but she was a good sport and didn’t complain. She had to let him beat her in something. He returned the favor by reading Caitlin Moran’s _How to Be a Woman_ to her while she was having a foot bath. Though he had made her swear to never tell about it to the anyone, before agreeing to do it. With her hand on her heart, she had promised to keep her mouth shut, so that he would read it.

Them having fun at home influenced the way they behaved in public as well. They were relaxed and in good humor most of the time, creating an illusion that they were happily married and in love. They seemed like a couple that liked being around each other. The truth was, that they had always liked being around each other. Since day one, although they hadn’t admitted it at first. In few short months, after meeting for the first time, it had become obvious that they were friends and more than that, soulmates. They were each other’s most important person.

Living with a friend and soulmate was uncomplicated most of the time. When they had a difference of opinion, they tended to work them out quickly. They didn’t want to fight because being friends was more important. Disagreements over work stuff were left to work. Fighting over the remote control turned into bargaining about the right to choose the next program they were going to watch and at the end of the day they sat under the same blanket watching TV, falling asleep side by side before the movie ended.

All in all, the domestic life of the Baker/Lawson household didn’t differ that much from any other married couple. Except for the obvious fact that they didn’t have sex together. Other than that, they lived together, shared their joys and sorrows with one another and tried to make the best of the strange situation. Mike didn’t see significant difference in their daily life compared to when he was married to Rachel, although him and Ginny were more like roommates, than husband and wife.

There had been that one drunken kiss between them after too much beer and snuggling under the same blanket while Jurassic World was on TV. She had kissed him, craving for some closeness from him. He had kissed her back just as eagerly, till he had realized what he was doing and how drunk she was, how drunk he was, how she would regret everything in the morning. He had backed away, saying how he was sorry for kissing her, ignoring that it hadn’t been him, who initiated it. It had never been spoken of since. But the tension was there.

Even now, when they were next to each other, taking care of the dishes, there was that undeniable chemistry, which drew them closer to one another. Both knew it was real, yet they refused to acknowledge it.

“It’s no big deal. It’s just the fifteen-year-old Ginny in me, being excited about living with her idol,” Ginny told herself and directed her thoughts away from him, them, their private relationship.

“Can we go through the hitters for tomorrow?” Work was always a good distraction for her. Except when she stood on the mound and found herself staring at Mike’s crotch, watching him signal her the next pitch.

“Sure, gimme a minute,” Mike said, lifting the pans to the cupboard.

Ginny waited in the living room with the list of Reds hitters. She was stretched out on the couch, scrolling through the players on her phone.

“I ate too much,” Mike huffed as he lay next to her with his tablet. The mega bowl of pasta had finally done its work and left him feeling like a stuffed turkey.

She glanced at him as he was rubbing his belly, looking uncomfortably overeaten.

“Looks like your food baby is about 15 weeks or so,” Ginny giggled and patted his bloated tummy. “I think we’re going to have to name the little one Fettuccine Alfredo.”

“Stop it! He’s very sensitive,” he swatted her hand away and Ginny swore he looked like Grumpy cat when he pursed his lips together and frowned at her.

“Aww, honey, don’t be like that! The baby needs to sense that this is a loving environment,” she kept on teasing him.

“You’re a god damn menace, you know!” He laughed at her, then stopped abruptly before he threw up the food he had just eaten.

“You couldn’t survive without me,” she stated smugly.

“Did you want us to go through the hitters or not?” Mike evaded the comment, waving the tablet in his hand.

“Yes, are you and little Alfredo ready?” she grinned at him, receiving an ironic smile in return.

“Me and Alfredo are going to go to bed, if you don’t stop! Or I might as well sleep here because my eyes won’t stay open,” Mike yawned loudly.

“Okay, this will wake you up. Hitter statistics for Cincinnati Reds. I know you get turned on by these,” Ginny nudged him on the shoulder.

“There’s no escaping from you, is there?” He commented dryly and switched his tablet on.

“There sure isn’t!” Ginny snickered at him.

Mike was half asleep when they went through the hitters. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to do this after dinner. With Ginny being full of energy, he decided it was best to suck it up and deal with it. He rubbed his face with his hands and directed his attention to the players.

“You know, the hitters are always giving me shit about you, when I’m catching your pitches,” he mentioned casually after they finished the hitters list.

“Are they? What do they say?” Ginny was genuinely curious.

“All kinds of things, pretty tacky, to be honest,” he said without going into detail.

“Such as?” Ginny didn’t have any delusions about the way the players talked about her. She had been called a cunt, pussy, lesbian, transvestite and just about any adjective that the macho players thought offensive. It had started when she was in her teens and it still went on ten years later. She didn’t like it, but had decided early on to ignore it. There were always going to be douche bags who thought that her place wasn’t on the mound and they were going to be vocal about it. 

“Does your wife give you pussy, if you disagree with her during the game, does she like that lumberjack beard when you go down on her, does your wife handle your balls the same way she handles the balls on the mound?” He mentioned first three things that came to his mind.

Mike didn’t usually talk about women like this, not when Ginny was around anyway and it made her raise her brows little surprised. The words sounded explicit and more so coming from his mouth.

“That’s pretty blunt,” Ginny sounded a little taken aback.

“I did warn you,” Mike replied apologetically, knowing that what he had said sounded harsh.

“And what do you say to them?” She urged him to go on.

“Sometimes nothing, sometimes something similarly offensive. I can be real dick if I feel like it and tell them all sorts of things,” he shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.

“Like?”

“Depending on the player, I may imply that I had a close encounter with his mother the other night, he has too small cock to satisfy any woman or I might ask why is he so interested in my sex life? Does he want to be part of it? I don’t think Ginny’s into threesome. I’m however up for a twosome, if that’s what he wants. The last one usually catches them off guard.” Mike explained with a serious face.

“And they still consider you straight?”

“I don’t know, what have you heard?” He chuckled. As if someone would ever believe him being into men.

“One day your mouth is going to get you in trouble,” Ginny warned him.

“Undoubtedly,” he agreed. It already had gotten him in trouble several times over the years. He didn’t see the trend changing any time soon.

“And I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor. I can take care of myself,” she reminded.

“What kind of a husband would I be, if I let men talk about my wife like that? There’s no way I’m not reacting to them being jerks about you. I would react to that even if we weren’t married,” he adjusted his position on the couch and let out a deep breath. The dinner was still giving him hard time.

“Aww, you’re such a big softie,” Ginny pinched his cheek. “Do you want me to give you a tummy rub in return for your chivalrous acts,” she offered, when she saw that he wasn’t yet recovered from his food coma.

“Keep your hands away from me, woman,” he ordered crankily.

“You sure?” she smirked and gently patted his tummy again.

All she got from him, was a grumpy face.

 

xx

Ginny stood on the mound, staring at Mike’s crotch once again. He signaled her the next pitch, but she wasn’t OK with it and shook him off. She wanted to use her cutter and he finally agreed to it, giving her the signal.

“What’s taking so long?” Reds hitter asked from Mike. “Having a lovers’ quarrel with wife?” He asked, trying to annoy Mike, rattle his concentration.

Ginny pitched and the ball landed in Mike’s glove.

“She giving you orders, man?”

“Just play the ball, Davies!” Mike ignored his provocation. He didn’t feel like getting in trouble today.

20 minutes later Mike was getting ready to hit with Davies crouching behind him, ready to catch the pitch. The man continued from where he left of, when he was holding the bat a while ago.

“You need some help with that bat? I can ask your wife to teach you how to handle hard wood.”

“I’m good, thanks!” Mike was trying very hard not to let the man get to him.

“Without your wife telling you what to do? Is she the one with the balls at home as well? Is your pitcher the man of the house?”

“You know, you got some kinky fantasies about pitchers! Or is that what you and Orrell do behind closed doors?” Mike motioned towards the Reds pitcher standing on the mound. “He makes you hold his wood and shows you, who’s got the balls? I feel for you, Davies! I used to be in the same team with him, I’ve seen his junk, man. Wouldn’t want to take a dick that big up my ass,” Mike kept on annoying the catcher.

It’s all it took. Davies stormed up from his catching position and attacked Mike. The Padres captain let out a shitty laugh, provoking the catcher to shove him harder. In no time, they were throwing punches at each other, joined by both teams, and the chaos was ready. The only one staying away from the battlefield was Ginny, who stood in the dugout shaking her head. This was exactly what she had meant, when she had said, that Mike didn’t need to be her savior.  

 

xx

“Really, Mike? What are you, fourteen?” Ginny asked from Mike, who was sitting on the couch and nurturing his black eye with a bottle of ice cold beer.

“What? I was defending your honor. And maybe my own honor too,” Mike explained his actions on the field.

“Well, now you’ve got a black eye. Happy?” She asked, standing next to him and pressing the ice pack against his eye.

“Owww!” He whined loudly. It made Ginny raise her brows in disbelief. A 37year old crybaby.  

“This is your own doing, now suffer the consequences,” She ordered mercilessly. He crunched his face dissatisfied but it hurt too much and he had to stop.

“Don’t I get any compassion?” He pleaded.

Ginny pursed her lips together. She just wanted to punch his other eye black as well. A grown man acting like a teenager and for what? Because ' _the other one started it'_  ? On the other hand, he was kind of adorable for taking his husband duties so seriously. She had to bite her lip to avoid smiling.

“I told you, your mouth would get you in trouble,” she reminded him of their conversation from last night.

He pushed the ice pack, along with Ginny’s hand, away. The blood vessels in his eye had broken, forming a red circle around his iris and making him look extra pitiful.

“But I’m wounded!” He said and rested his head against Ginny’s stomach for comfort. It felt good to be this close to her. Good enough to almost make him forget the pain he was in.

“I’m holding an ice pack on your shiner, what more can you want? Do you need me to give you a sponge bath, or what?” She joked, thinking that it was just friendly banter, nothing more.

“Would you?” He asked, looking up at her and Ginny thought that she saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

She gave him a peck on his eye, with her lips barely touching his skin. “That’ll have to do for now,” she whispered and pressed the ice pack back on his eye. She was well aware, that if any of their team mates saw them like this, they would hear about it for the rest of their lives. It didn’t change the fact, that she liked when he touched her. Before their marriage, it wouldn’t have crossed her mind, that it could be wrong. Now every physical contact with him, even something as mundane as shoulders brushing together, was monitored and assessed.

“You’re such a good wife,” he said, staring at her with his only functioning eye, forcing her to turn her gaze away.

“Don’t be silly, old man. And no more fighting because of the girl on the team. Ginny’s orders!”

“I can’t promise anything,” his response was accompanied with a smug smile. “Do I at least look credible? Like I can take a punch?” He sounded little too proud of his black eye.

“You look like you ran into a tree on your way to Duck Dynasty family meeting. Nothing credible with that.”

“When are you just going to admit, that you love the beard?” Mike insisted. He refused to believe that she didn’t like it.

“You’re delirious! How hard did the guy hit you? I will never love the beard,” Ginny stated.

Of course she loved the beard. Young, clean shaven Mike Lawson was no match to the 37 year old lumberjack Mike. It was something she would never admit, not even under pain of death.

“Challenge accepted, I’ll make you a beard convert by the end of the year!” He declared. 

“You’re wasting your time,” Ginny proclaimed confidently.

There was no use trying to convince Mike, he had made up his mind. He would make the beard win Ginny over, if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was struggling big time with this chapter and I'm still somewhat dissatisfied with it. But I can't keep editing this or I'll never post it.


	6. In the public eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The public interest in Mike and Ginny seems to be overwhelming sometimes. They try to cope with it while also trying to live their lives with one another as each others best friends and fake spouses. Things aren't as simple as they initially thought.

It had been clear from the start, that both the more traditional media outlets as well as social media loved the Baker/Lawson marriage. Still, 9 weeks after the wedding, not a day went by without someone posting a picture of them or commenting the marriage, sports channels couldn’t mention them or the Padres without reminding their viewers, that they were married and even the sport pages on newspapers sacrificed their expensive column inches to print their names on the articles. It had taken pretty much everyone around them by surprise because they all had thought, that the news would get old quickly. Instead, the more people talked about them, the more it raised interest in them. 

The public interest also added pressure on how they acted around other people. Before the marriage, when they had regarded themselves each other’s best friends, Ginny had never shied away from being close to Mike. He had gotten his fair share of hugs from her in public, on an airplane, in a restaurant, outside Petco and to Mike, she had been the only person he ever allowed that close to himself. It had changed the moment they got married. All the sudden such closeness had felt too intimate. Their teammates making fun of them only added to the awkwardness they had felt at first.

It had lasted for couple of weeks but once Mike and Ginny got past that, their behavior changed quickly. It was as if they stopped constantly worrying what other people were thinking and got comfortable in their new roles. It was bizarre balancing between the close and caring relationship they had at home, trying to act normal in the clubhouse, being fully professional on the job and seemingly in love with each other in public. No-one on the team was surprised when the roles started to mix.

Mike and Ginny didn’t see it themselves, but everyone else noticed how the ‘in love’ slowly replaced the other roles everywhere else except on the job, where they always maintained the professional pitcher/catcher dynamic. Outside the field, however, things were significantly different.

The team observed how Mike and Ginny gradually grew closer than they had ever been before. And they had always been close, ever since Ginny joined the team. This was something different. It looked like two people finding their other halves, becoming more than a married couple, a unit, with the lack of a better word.

The change was most visible in Mike. The captain, who was always dissatisfied with something, seemed to forget his constant frown. He let his guard down around her the way he had never done before, showing more relaxed side of himself in the clubhouse. A change, that was welcomed by everyone.

Some of the Padres old-timers, who had been with the organization for years, also finally got to witness the day when Mike Lawson was embarrassed and blushed in front of everyone. This was something they had never expected to happen. Mike had always been too self-assured for such a failure. He had probably never expected it to happen either. But being around Ginny made him do all kinds of things for the first time, some more embarrassing than others.

He had handed Ginny a macadamia cookie she had asked him to bring from the coffeeshop. When she had seen the giant Blueberry muffin he had bought for himself, her face had turned sour.

“You’ve got a huge muffin and I have a cookie,” she had complained like a five-year-old.

“That’s what you asked me to bring,” Mike had told her matter-of-factly. He didn’t see what the problem was.

“But yours looks so much better! You can taste my cookie, if you give me part of your muffin,” she had persuaded him with a wide grin, not being aware what it sounded like.

It had been too much for the guys.

“I’d say you’re the winner here, Mike. She’s letting you taste her cookie,” Dusty had burst into laughter, setting everyone else on the same path and making Mike’s face turn bright pink and Ginny to stand there mortified, with her face buried in her hands.

“Seriously? Fuck off everyone,” Mike had exclaimed loudly, but the team didn’t care.

“Are you blushing,” the guys had mocked him instead of cutting him some slack.

After that nothing had been off limits. If they could make him blush, there had to be some truth in their teasing.

But Mike and Ginny were having none of it. Any suggestions of them being more than friends, were met with fierce objection from their part. They couldn’t understand who could come up with such foolery. They were friends, that’s all. End of discussion.

Since Mike and Ginny were in full denial, the guys felt the two needed a gentle nudge towards each other to get them acknowledge what was going on. The team took part in the media circus with great enthusiasm. If it wasn’t them commenting on some social media post about them, they were adding fuel to the fire by tweeting pictures of Mike and Ginny together, forcing some kind of reaction out of them. They had even given them various nicknames in social media. #padresplaymates, #marriedAF #pitcherandhercatcher, #Ginnyshubby, #Captainswifey #Mrslawson, #Mrbaker and more affectionately #lovebirdsofpetco to mention a few of them. They put all this effort into getting them realize how stupid they were being and how stupidly in love they were.

Slowly the reality crept in the minds of the married couple. Without daring to admit anything even to themselves, they started to realize how things weren’t as simple as they had thought. What happened in public didn’t always stay there. It wasn’t that simple to switch the feelings off when the door closed behind them. They cared far too much for each other to be able to do that.

And because they were under constant scrutiny, they couldn’t tone down their behavior in public without causing speculation. And the media loved speculating on people’s relationships. Mike and Ginny weren’t any different and they did their best to keep their behavior consistent whenever they left home or the clubhouse, to avoid any unnecessary talk on the media. The last thing they needed were some completely untrue rumors flying around. Keeping their act together was difficult enough without having to deal with extra lies.

If all the eyes were on them when they went out the door, publicity events were even more so. Mike and Ginny, same as other Padres players, were there to attract attention. And attention they truly attracted. Ginny, who had never liked it, coped with it when it was for the right reasons. And this was for the wrong reasons. Everyone wanted to see for themselves how they acted as a married couple. Because of the marriage, her personal life had become more interesting to people than the real reason she was there for, baseball. Sometimes it had felt like too much.

She had always admired Mike’s way of handling publicity and she had talked to him about how to deal with the media frenzy. He had shared his secret, that he always thought the public side of his life to be a performance. She was already playing the part of a wife and she should start treating the situation as a play, where she was the leading lady and was putting on a show for the hungry audience.

Surprisingly enough, it helped. Ginny, like everyone else, had always had different sides to herself, she simply hadn’t realized it before. Mrs. Lawson was merely one of them. After that revelation, it had become significantly easier for her to deal with complete strangers poking into her private life and asking personal questions about her and Mike.

It was not any different when they were in LA for a game trip and the Padres were throwing a party for their biggest sponsors. Despite the prospect of having to endure nosy questions, she was in good spirits. Which can’t be said about Mike, who was less than enthusiastic to attend the party. Normally he would handle these things with routine but tonight he felt too tired to pretend to be a likeable guy who cared about what other people did. And quite frankly, he was too old and seasoned for such gimmicks. But a job was a job and he had never neglected his duties because he didn’t feel like it. Even if he’d rather be stretched out on the hotel bed, watching TV, falling asleep mid-program and missing the ending. And if he’d have his Ginny next to him, it would be a nice bonus.

At least Ginny would be by his side at the party, keeping his inner grump from emerging. Surely, things couldn’t be that bad, if she was close to him. And judging by the way she was sitting on the bathroom counter of his hotel room, watching him trim his beard, she didn’t mind being close to him either.

“Do you think that people believe us being married for real?” Ginny wanted to know.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Mike didn’t see any reason for people not believing it. In his opinion, they had been a model couple whenever they were in public and all the photos the guys posted on Instagram or tweeted, only strengthened that illusion.

“I sometimes wonder if they can see past the lie,” Ginny shared her doubts.

“Don’t think about it, it’ll only make you paranoid,” Mike offered his advice. He knew that if Ginny got something in her head, she’d mull it over until the end of the world. And this was nothing, just a figment of her imagination.

“I guess you’re right,” she conformed reluctantly.

“I know I’m right. Over analyzing things only make them worse,” Mike educated her further.

“So, are you looking forward for this evening,” she asked, moving on from the subject.

“Not really,” the lack of enthusiasm was evident in his voice.

“Of course you aren’t, because you’re not the center of the attention,” Ginny mocked him unabashedly and received his trademark sarcastic smile in return. She wasn’t completely wrong.

Ginny passed him the scissors from the counter.

“You could have done that at home yesterday, you know,” she said as he trimmed his beard with them.

“I didn’t have time,” he reminded her how it had taken her ages to get ready at Petco before heading back home.

“It was barely 10pm when we got back,” Ginny defended herself.

“I’m not blaming you, I’m only saying how it is. I don’t care if I have to trim by beard here as long as it gets done,” like his words, his voice told, that he didn’t think it was a big deal. He didn’t care if he had to spend couple more minutes in his bathroom before going to the party.

Ginny didn’t really care either, she liked to watch him groom himself. As much as he looked like a lumberjack from the backwoods, she knew that he put a lot of effort into managing his beard.

“And what an excellent job you do with it,” She praised his skills cheekily.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be? Like in your own room getting ready?” He implied not so subtly.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” she agreed and jumped down from the counter. “See you in downstairs then?”

“Shouldn’t we go together, make a grand entrance?” Mike asked and Ginny agreed. It would probably look better if they went to the party together. It was all about keeping up the appearances.

“Well, I’ll go change and come back here,” she said from the doorway.

“I’ll be ready in couple of minutes, I’ll come to your room.” He suggested, knowing that it would take more than that for Ginny to get ready. She nodded at him and dashed away without waiting for his reply.

 

\--

Ten minutes later Mike knocked on Ginny’s door. She had already put her dress on when she opened her door for him.

“Could you help with my buttons?” She turned around to reveal the back of her dress with three buttons of six still waiting for buttoning.

“Sure,” he promised and got to work. His fingers fumbled a little at the task. Not because the buttons were so small, but because it felt so personal, something a real husband would do, not a fake one. “There you go,” he said after finishing.

“Thanks,” she said cheerfully “This’ll take few minutes,” she continued and returned to the bathroom where she had been before Mike knocked on her door.

“That’s OK,” he wasn’t in a hurry.

Mike sat on a chair and lifted his feet on a vacant one in front of him. For a moment, he closed his eyes.

“Do you have beer in your minibar,” he asked.

“I don’t know, check yourself,” Ginny answered from the bathroom.

Mike got up and opened the minibar. He found a bottle of light beer. Not his first choice, but he wasn’t going to be picky. Beer was beer. He walked towards the bathroom with the opened bottle and leaned against the doorframe. He drank from the bottle, watching Ginny get ready. She looked absolutely stunning in her black cocktail dress and hair tied up. Mike doubted if she knew herself how gorgeous she was. She was beautiful no matter what she wore, a cocktail dress, tights and hoodie, Padres uniform, his old T-shirt. He wouldn’t have known which one to choose if he had to. All versions of her were equally pleasing to eye.

“You’re looking very dapper tonight,” she mentioned casually. He knew he should have returned the compliment, but nothing came out of his mouth and he just stood there, looking stupid.

“Which ones,” Ginny asked, holding two different earrings in front of her ears.

“They’re both fine,” his attention was on her face, not on the earrings.

“You’re not helping,” she smiled.

“The long ones,” he finally offered.

“Okay,” she put them on.

“Where’d you get them?” he asked, not remembering to have seen them before. Not that he had paid much attention to her earrings before. Only the ones she was always wearing for work, the small gold studs.

“The earrings? I can’t really remember,” her answer was elusive enough to catch Mike’s attention.

“Don’t remember or don’t want to say? Did some man give them to you?”

Ginny looked at him through the mirror

“Would that make the husband Mike Lawson feel territorial?” Her question was accompanied with a smirk.

“Maybe,” he retorted slyly.

“You play your part so well,” she laughed at him.

“Does that mean that you won’t wear them?” Mike was being dead serious and Ginny saw it.

She took the earrings off with an amused smile on her face. She didn’t mind playing along.

“And if I had gotten the other pair from some hopeful suitor as well?”

“Then I’d say that they must not have been that beautiful, since he didn’t get to marry you and the pair you wear for work suits you best,” Mike proclaimed self-confidently.

“You have an answer to every question, don’t you?” Ginny asked as she put the other pair on. “Better?”

“Much!” he replied, grinning satisfied.

“Let’s go then, lover boy,” she said and slapped him playfully on the butt.

“I bet the earrings-guy didn’t have as nice butt as mine…”

That was true, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She didn’t need him to be any prouder of himself than he already was.

“Will you go already,” she said holding back laughter.

 

\--

As soon as they got downstairs, someone swooped Ginny away, leaving him with no other choice than find a drink to keep him company. He had been forced to admit ages ago, that Ginny was the media magnet and whenever she was around, he was left to play second fiddle. It surprised himself how little it bothered him. Normally he would have been annoyed over such thing, but not when it came to his Ginny. She deserved all the praise she could get.

He headed to the closest bar and asked for ‘other than light beer’ from the bartender. Few beers later Blip found him scowling by the water fountain.

“I thought you bailed on coming,” he said to Mike.

“I might as well have. There’s no point in this,” Mike responded with a frown.

“You could at least try to look like you’re not planning on murdering everyone,” Blip said to him.

“I’m not interested in this circus. I can’t look like Joker if I don’t feel like it,” Mike commented.

“Try to keep a neutral face then. Is that too difficult?” Blip tried to make him relax a bit.

“No, you see, this face keeps the hyenas away. My goal exactly,” Mike pointed at his own face, looking pleased with himself.

“And how’s Ginny coping with the extra attention, the hyenas? Seems it’s only gotten wilder after you two got married.”

Mike looked around to see where Ginny was and saw her standing close to balcony doors, talking to a little too slick looking guy.

“I don’t know, what do you think?” Mike asked with a surly voice. 

Blip glanced over to same direction as Mike and saw what he saw. You could see from far that the guy was flirting with Ginny.

“Is this the part where you pretend to be the jealous husband?” He asked from Mike without looking at him.

Mike didn’t have to pretend to be the jealous husband, he was. All these guys around Ginny, looking sharp, trying to charm her, doing anything to get recognized. She was bound to be smitten by them, sooner or later. Like she had been smitten by that IT nerd last year. The thought made the vein in his temple throb angrily.

“If someone came onto Ev like that, I’d definitely break it up,” Blip commented on the guy touching Ginny’s arm.

“Yeah, she’s my wife! And the guy should step the fuck away from her,” Mike decided and made his way towards them before Blip had a chance to say or do anything without causing a scene in the full ballroom. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know how all this would play out.

“Ginny, pumpkin,” Mike said when he reached her and the flirtatious bastard with a Colgate Smile.

“Mike?” Ginny turned her head in surprise.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he replied and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, sending a message to the sketchy character next to her, that he was crossing onto her husband’s territory.

“I’ve been standing here for a while now,” Ginny replied. She saw what he was doing and that he was drunk. How drunk, remained to be seen.

“Who’s your friend?” Mike wanted to know.

“This is Peter Ellis from Sony,” Ginny introduced the man.

The guy offered his hand to Mike.

“Lovely,” Mike replied and shook his hand. “Mind if I borrow my wife?” It was his turn to conjure a fake smile on his face.

“Of course not,” the man said and Mike led Ginny away from him.

“I was talking to him, you know,” she said as they walked away.

“Isn’t this why you married me? So that I would keep you safe from all these creeps? I was doing what I promised to do,” his voice was full of pride.

“Us getting married and the creeps actually backing away from me is something I’m ever grateful for you. I just don’t think that the guy was a one of them,” Ginny shared her opinion.

“Oh please! He looked like he was about to make his move on you. You’re lucky I got there in time.” Mike justified his actions. Besides, the guy had looked like a douchebag anyways.

“Not every guy, who talks to me, is a creep!” Ginny protested.

“I know a dog when I see one, and he was one of them. You can trust me on this, pumpkin,” he said smugly and tapped her nose gently with his index finger. 

“And does your knowledge come from personal experience?” She was clearly irked by now but Mike didn’t notice it.

 “Well, I can’t deny it. I used to spend a lot of time with women. But all that was before you entered my life and swept me of my feet. I’m a renewed man,” Mike’s response sounded like coming from a womanizer’s guidebook and it made Ginny roll her eyes at him. Was this how he acted with other women? And did they actually fall for that?

“You’re looking very beautiful tonight,” he finally got around to tell her.

“Thank you,” she said, when she couldn’t think of any witty response. Maybe this was what the women fell for? He always found something nice to say, that was sincere instead of sounding like it was him trying to get into a woman’s pants.

“But you’re always very beautiful,” he continued.

“And you seem to be little tipsy” she commented his obvious flattery.

“Tipsy? Do I look like someone, who’s ever been tipsy in his life? I’m either drunk or not!”

“Then I’d definitely say you’re drunk. You think, you could maybe slow down with the booze for the rest of the night? We do have a game tomorrow” she reminded him.

“Fine,” he agreed and placed the bottle on a nearest surface he could find. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic!”

“You know what would make me ecstatic?” He asked from her.

He leaned closer to her, his hand finding its way on her hip, for the appearances sake, of course.

“A cheeseburger,” he whispered, when he would have liked to say ‘you’.

“You and your cheeseburgers,” Ginny giggled. She couldn’t stay mad at him for more than five seconds. “Have you ever considered trying something greener, like lettuce every now and then?”

“You don’t get a physique like mine by eating ‘lettuce’. You need protein to build something this amazing,” he pointed out smugly.

“Clearly,” she replied with risen eyebrows. Sober Mike had a ‘healthy’ self-esteem but drunk Mike’s ego was out of proportion.

“Hey, it’s all done to please your eye,” he enlightened her.

“Oh god, you’re so cheesy sometimes,” Ginny shook her head in despair.

“That reminds me,” he said and turned his back to Ginny, heading somewhere.

“Where are you going?” she shouted after him.

“To get me that cheeseburger,” he quipped over his shoulder, leaving Ginny astounded and alone.

Fifteen minutes later Ginny saw him sitting by the bar with a cheeseburger in front of him.

“Where did you get that?” She insisted on knowing.

“From the kitchen,” he said, as if it was the only logical answer.

“So, you marched there and asked for it?” Ginny’s tone was accusatory.

“Hey, honey, I’m the king of San Diego. I get what I want… eventually,” Mike sounded like he owned the place.

“We’re in LA!” Ginny remarked dryly.

“Let’s not get stuck on details. I’m here on official capacity! And look, they even added a piece of ‘lettuce’ on my request,” he pointed at a green veggie sticking out from the burger. He lifted the nicely piled stack close to his mouth and was about to take a bite of it. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Do you want to taste it?” He asked and moved the burger towards Ginny.

It did look and smell delicious.

“Sure, why not,” she said and took a bite of it. It tasted as good as it looked. “Hmmmmm,” she said, looking impressed.

“If you want more, go get your own from the kitchen,” he said and returned eating it.

“No, I’m good,” she replied, mouth still half full of the food.

“You’ve got some dressing on your,” he nodded towards her mouth.

“Where,” she asked and wiped the corner of her mouth with her fingers.

“You missed some,” Mike said and wiped it away with his thumb. He licked the sweet dressing from his finger before continuing to eat the hamburger.

They didn’t notice how Blip was looking at them from across the room, observing every little detail of their behavior and asking himself how much of it was acting and how much real. To him, Ginny and Mike didn’t look like two people pretending to love each other. There was no way those two were that good actors. No matter how hard they tried to deny having feelings for each other, Blip knew what he had known since day one. There wasn’t Ginny or Mike anymore, there was Ginny _and_ Mike, they had become an inseparable duo.

And the duo seemed to be having good time together. Ginny knew she was supposed to mingle with the guests but she liked spending time with Mike and to be honest, she was also concerned with him getting too drunk for his own good. She figured out that if she’d stay with him and keep his mind occupied, he’d probably forget that he was so thirsty. It was worth the try. Not that being hungover had ever stopped him from playing a game. He had told her a story of having once puked between innings because of a hangover, but the hangover hadn’t prevented him from hitting a homerun in that game. Then again, he had been 25 years old when it had happened. She was also pretty sure she couldn’t perform like that after a bender.    

“You’re the only one I know, who can march into a restaurant kitchen to order a burger during a cocktail party and get one.”

He finished the burger and emptied the half full bottle of beer with one gulp.

“You sure you don’t want one? I can go get it for you, if you’re too shy to ask yourself,” he volunteered.

“No, I’m good,” Ginny assured him.

“Beer?”

“No thanks, and you were supposed to slow down yourself, remember?”

“Yes dear, a game tomorrow and all,” he repeated her words from earlier.

Ginny checked her watch, it was past eleven.

“I think I’m ready to head upstairs,” Ginny said, thinking that she could lure Mike into leaving the party he didn’t want to attend in the first place.

“Yeah, I think I’ll come too,” he said wiping the corner of his mouth to a napkin.

It made Ginny snicker at how well she knew him and which strings to pull.

 

Mike was standing next to Ginny in the lobby, waiting for the elevator.

“I’m gonna buy you the prettiest earrings you’ve ever seen,” he said to her ear, his hand finding its way on the small of her back. The unexpected touch made her flinch and she asked herself if the middle-aged man standing next to them noticed it. If he did, he didn’t show it.

“I don’t need gifts, you know that,” she opposed the idea.

Ginny wondered if Mike had been brewing the thought all evening or if he came up with it as he was speaking. Did he act like this in real marriage or was he simply trying very hard to look like a proper husband, burying her in lavish gifts to appear like a man in love? It didn’t cross her mind, that he gave her these beautiful things because he wanted her to be happy. What didn’t cross his mind was, that she didn’t need expensive gifts to be happy. All she needed was to know that he had her back, like he had promised.

“But it makes me happy. Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” she agreed with him, even if she didn’t want him buying her stuff all the time. She was capable of buying her own things.

 

After having lost them for a moment, Blip spotted Mike and Ginny standing by the elevator. He rushed to them before they could escape him.

“Are you two lovebirds trying to ditch the party without telling anyone?” He said with a judgmental tone.

Ginny noticed that the center field had drank few beers himself.

“The Grump’s had enough for the night and so have I,” Ginny explained, knowing Blip didn’t care why they were leaving. He just wanted to give them their daily dose of public torment. Or what was it that Blip described it, character building?

“And miss all the fun? Or is it that you two are going to have your own fun upstairs?”

Ginny’s eyes darted up in the ceiling to avoid eye contact with people around her.

Despite his drunken state, Mike’s wits seemed to work in their favor this time.

“Wouldn’t you want to know, or is it Ev, that’s putting the questions in your mouth?”

“Ev doesn’t tell me what to do or say,” Blip looked insulted.

“Sure she doesn’t,” Mike agreed with a nod.

Ginny didn’t want to hear the rest of the conversation and was ever so grateful when the elevator doors opened.

“I’m going. Are you coming or staying here to deepen your bromance with Blip?” She asked from Mike.

“I’m coming,” Mike left Blip behind, nodding at the man as he stepped into the elevator.

“I’m not a grump,” Mike protested once the doors closed.

“Yes, you are, and that’s why I love you,” Ginny stated with a grin on her face.

“Yeah?” All the sudden Mike looked very pleased. He liked the idea that his natural state of mind was something Ginny approved, even loved. “Well, you just earned yourself a treat. I’m gonna cuddle the shit out of you tonight,” he stated solemnly and moved closer, giving her a preview of what was coming by wrapping his arms around her neck.

His words and touch made Ginny blush. She could see the businessman shift his position and she knew Mike’s words hadn’t escaped his ears.

“Is that so,” she forced herself to say. She did like the idea of getting cuddles from him and she didn’t mind falling asleep with his arms around her.

“Yes!”

Finally, the elevator stopped and they got out. She headed to her own room leaving Mike stand next to his own door, looking baffled.

“Where are you going? What about the cuddles?” He was genuinely confused.

“To get my PJ’s from my own room,” Ginny explained to him the obvious.

“Well, don’t take too long,” he looked concerned, that she wouldn’t come.

“Yes, dearie. I’ll be as quick as I can,” she promised with a sarcastic expression on her face as she opened her door and vanished into her room.

Fifteen minutes later she knocked on Mike’s door, wearing PJ’s and a bathrobe with clothes for next day and a toilet bag in her hand.

“You’re here, pumpkin,” he greeted her happily.

Ginny narrowed her eyes. He seemed to be more drunk than quarter of an hour before. She walked by him and saw an empty whiskey glass on the table.

“Are you ready for the cuddles,” he asked and wrapped his hands around her gently.

“Stooop,” she giggled. She couldn’t handle him being so drunk and precious at the same time. “I need to wash my face,” she pushed him away with determination.

“Well, I’ll be waiting here, when you’re ready,” he nodded at her with a suggestive smirk on his face.

“You do that,” she responded and went to the bathroom.

She washed her face and patted it dry with the towel. She hung the bathrobe on a hook and went back to the bedroom. Mike was on the bed, fast asleep. Ginny looked disappointed. She wasn’t getting her cuddles this evening. She sighed loudly and decided between staying in his room or going back to her own.

“What the hell,” she said out loud and lay down next to Mike on his bed. She found a good position and closed her eyes. As soon as she did so, Mike started to snore next to her. Her eyes flew open and she looked at him in disdain. First, she had been deprived of the cuddles and now this. She pushed him violently, causing him only to mumble in his sleep.

“Stop, you dick,” she said angrily but nothing happened.

Ten minutes later she was ready to suffocate him with her pillow, but covered her own ears with it instead. What an infuriating man!

 

\--

Ginny had slept barely three hours when Mike shook her awake the next morning. He was met with an extremely grumpy response.

“Ginny, it’s 8am,” Mike said.

Ginny grunted angrily and pulled the blanket to her ears.

“You need to get up,” he told her a bit too chirpily.

“Go away!” She gnarled at him.

His brows raised in surprise. What had he done, that deserved this kind of attitude?

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” Ginny sat up on the bed “I was promised cuddles and all I got was your snoring, that kept me awake most of the night!”

“I don’t snore!” Mike was seriously insulted by her accusations.

“Your snoring could wake the dead. Actually, I’m pretty sure there are few corpses walking around in the hotel lobby as we speak,” Ginny roared back.

“I’m pretty sure that if I snored, someone would have mentioned it to me earlier,” he argued.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Ginny huffed at him. She hadn’t slept more than ten minutes at a time during the night, and the guilty party tried to deny his involvement in the matter.

“Of course not,” Mike saw that she wasn’t kidding.

“That’s what I thought!”

“Well, do you want me to give you cuddles now?” He tried a different approach to calm her down.

“Don’t touch me, you ass!” She wrinkled her nose angrily.

Mike wasn’t going to give up. He’d annoy her until she would so irked that she wouldn’t be able keep a straight face anymore.

“You’re very cute when you’re grumpy,” he continued.

This was the last draw for Ginny. She was mad as hell and he kept teasing her like a teenager.

“You’re a dick!!!” she bellowed and stormed up.

“And you love me for it,” he pushed her further. He knew her so well, that he could tell that she was close to laughter.

“Why do you have to be like that?” The corner of Ginny’s mouth started to twitch lightly.

“Like what?” Mike pretended not to understand what she was talking about. “Or do you mean like this,” he asked and took a step closer.

“If you try to tickle me, it’s the last thing you do before you die!” she warned him with her finger pointing at him.

“I’m not trying to tickle you, I promise. I just want to ask you something,”

Ginny looked suspicious. She didn’t trust a word he was saying.

“Are you loving the beard already?” He asked with a dead serious tone.

Finally, she cracked up. God damn him and his ability turn her bad mood into laughter.

“I hate the beard and one day you’re going to wake up without it. And that’s a promise!” She warned him.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he stated curtly

“That’s what you think, until the day comes!”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” He responded cockily. At least she wasn’t frowning anymore.

 

\--

Half an hour later they were standing in the elevator, going down for breakfast. Ginny felt tired and her face on the mirror was telling the same story.

“Just so that you know, you snore too,” Mike broke the silence between them.

“I do not snore!” Ginny got upset. She glanced over to a man standing next to them. She was pretty sure it was the same guy who had been in the elevator with them last night.

“Yes, you do!” Mike corrected her.

Ginny kept her mouth shut, she didn’t want the world to know that they were arguing about such topic or that she snored. Mike didn’t take the hint.

“It’s very classy snoring, if that helps at all.”

It didn’t help at all. Ginny could see the third party in the elevator hold back a smile.

“Shut up, will you!”

Ginny stepped out from the elevator and headed towards the tables where some of their team mates were sitting.

“Wow, Ginny. You look horrible, like you haven’t slept at all last night,” Sal commented her tired appearance. “Wait, did your husband keep you awake last night?” He continued, making the other guys chuckle at his supposedly witty remark.

If the looks could kill, all of the guys would have been dead. Ginny saw a waiter trying not to smile at Sal’s comment and it only made her moodier.

“As a matter of fact, he did,” she finally said, being proud of herself that she came up with an answer that was the absolute truth. The expressions on her team mates´ faces were priceless. “You can ask details from him, if you’re interested,” she continued and made her way towards the coffee machine. Their eyes followed her and then turned to Mike with a demand of an explanation.

“She’s talking about snoring,” Mike told them, but the guys weren’t looking too convinced.

“You sure, that’s all she’s talking about?” Blip asked, looking at him with serious eyes.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Mike swore to him.

Something told Mike, that the boys were going to have a field day with him and Ginny today. Situations like this tended to escalate into massive spectacles and if they hadn’t already posted some stupid shit on social media from last night, they definitely would after this. He didn’t want to know what it was, he didn’t want Ginny to find out what it was, but he also knew, that the boys would make sure both of them saw it. He looked at Ginny standing by the coffee machine and sighed. This was the everyday life of the Baker/Lawson household in the time of social media and immature team mates. Nothing he could do about it.


	7. Long Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny's on a short DL, Mike's on away trip. Neither one of them are taking it easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a lot longer to update this than I had originally intended. Hopefully next one takes a lot less time than this one.

Ginny was sitting on Mike’s bed, looking at him packing for an away trip. The fact that she wasn’t doing the same thing in her own room made her angry and she wasn’t able to hide her feelings.

“What’s on your mind?” Mike wanted to know, although the answer was clear to him without asking it.

“This is stupid and completely useless,” Ginny huffed her answer with her face conveying the same message.

“It’s only ten days!” Mike tried to ease her annoyance.

“Ten days of pointless break from the game. What do they know?” She crossed her arms to strengthen her negative stance.

“You can’t deny that your wrist’s been sore after the game for a week now, can you? I don’t think the physiatrist was wrong, when he said that it’s a strain injury. A 10-day DL is better than rest of the season cancelled altogether.” Mike tried to reason with her, knowing it was probably futile.

“Why aren’t you on DL then? Every bit of your body is aching after the game, isn’t it?” Ginny refused to agree with him. She had decided that this was unnecessary and there was no turning her head.

“You’re 25, I’m closing in on 40. I’d be more concerned if I wasn’t hurting after the game.”

“Whatever,” she said, making a face.

“You could come too, even if you’re not playing,” Mike suggested cautiously.

“Absolutely not, it’s bad enough that I can’t play. To watch you guys make a mess of things on the field would be a cruel and unusual punishment,” Ginny blurted before thinking what she was saying.

“Make a mess of things?” It was hard not to react to her comments. Mike knew that she was just taking her frustration out on him and he too had been guilty of the same crime in the past, but it didn’t lessen his irritation. To avoid confrontation, he shut his mouth and stuffed the rest of his belonging to his backpack and zipped it.

Ginny stayed silent watching him do it. She wished to say something to let him know, that she didn’t really mean what she had said and it was purely her resentment with the current situation talking, but not a word came out of her mouth.

Mike looked at her, waiting for some kind of response. A simple ‘I didn’t mean it’ would have been enough.

“Well if you’re not interested in spending time with us losers, I’ll see you when I get back home,” he finally broke the silence, being openly offended with her determination to be so stubborn. He swung the bag onto his shoulder and stormed out of the room and downstairs without saying another word.

Ginny didn’t want him to leave being angry with her. She couldn’t bear the idea of her grumpy bear being cross with her all week. Not over such a stupid and completely avoidable fight. She didn’t want them to fight over anything, yet they had been fighting over the stupidest things lately, _stop borrowing my toothpaste if you can’t return it to where you took it from, you ate all my Oreos,_ _why can’t you listen to some other artist than Springsteen, stop using my t-shirts, stop drinking straight from the carton_ and so on. Usually those fights were forgotten instantly and she didn’t want it any other way this time either. So instead of letting him leave without saying anything, she ran after him, reaching him by the outside door and wrapping her hands around his neck.

“Have a good week,” she wished him, her head buried against his shoulder.

“You too,” Mike returned her wishes, holding her tightly against him. He was sure Ginny would start sobbing soon, if he didn’t leave. She could be hard as a rock on the field and completely opposite in private.

“I have to go or I’ll be late,” he tried to make it sound like he didn’t have other choice, when in fact both of them knew that he had plenty of time.

“We can’t have that, can we,” she said with teary eyes.

“Try to take it cool. There’s a reason for the DL,” Mike reminded as he opened the door and stepped outside.

“I will,” she promised, no matter how much she hated the idea.

He closed to door behind him and all of a sudden Ginny felt lonely. She was so used to having Mike around, that him leaving for the game trip felt like something indispensable had been stolen from her.

 

__

 

Not being on the field while her teammates were playing was something Ginny wasn’t used to. On the first day, she was pacing around the house, trying to think of something to do, not being able to concentrate on anything. She tried to read a magazine but gave that up after ten minutes. Then she went for a run on a treadmill and did all the other exercises she could, without risking of hurting her wrist in the process. An hour later she was sitting on the couch, basically staring into nothingness. She didn’t understand how people could be idle. She had been performing all her life and this sudden spare time was something she wasn’t good at. After trying to think how to spend the rest of her day, she gave up and called Evelyn to have someone to talk to, if nothing else.

Ev couldn’t help but be a little amused by Ginny’s problem. Most women would be thrilled to have extra time to pamper themselves, but not Ginny. Her drive to be on the field, to play the game, superseded everything else, including allowing some free time to herself when the there was a chance for it. She also couldn’t pass the opportunity to make fun of Ginny being a player’s wife, trying to kill time while hubby is on game trip.

“You are so not being funny,” Ginny commented Ev’s words dryly.

“So, you don’t have anything to do?”

“No, I’m so bored I could die,” Ginny exaggerated.

“Well, that’s clearly a bad sign. Come over and I’ll make you a dinner,” Evelyn offered.

“Naaah, I’ll stay home and order Chinese,” Ginny declined the invitation.

“You want me to come over and help you eat it?”

“Naaah. You’ve got the twins to take care of.”

“It’s not a problem. I can ask someone to come look after them.” Ev did her best to make Ginny change her mind.

“No, it’s really not necessary. I needed someone to talk with, nothing more dramatic than that. I’ll call tomorrow if I don’t have anything to do,” Ginny was already peppier after having a short conversation with Ev.

“Okay! But I can come, if you want me to.” Evelyn volunteered once more.

“I’m good. Thanks for the talk,” Ginny replied and wished Ev good evening before hanging up. She tossed her phone on the couch and let out a loud sigh. She had been home alone for one day and it felt like months.

 

\--

 

If Ginny was struggling at home, Mike had similar problems on the away trip. The grump was miserable without his Ginny by his side. He tried to act like her being at home was no big deal, but failed miserably at the attempt. A 37-year-old man acting like five-year-old was a lot to handle and this time the surrogate victims were his teammates. They did their best to ignore his moodiness but too much was too much and on the third day they made a plea for Blip to do something about it. Blip didn’t really know how to deal with the current Mike. The man was always cranky but this was beyond anything any of them had seen before. Nothing the guys did, was approved by the team’s captain. They were too lazy, laughing too loudly, complaining too much or simply talking too much or not enough.

When Blip didn’t know what to tell Mike, he asked him if everything was ok and received a curt reply of “Why wouldn’t it be?” accompanied with a nasty scowl.

“No reason at all…” Blip commented with a roll of his eyes. “Have you talked to Ginny?” He changed the subject before Mike had a chance to say another word.

“Ginny?” Mike looked like Blip had lost his mind.

“To hear how she’s doing!” He elaborated his question.

“I’m not going to call her!” Mike shot back.

“Why not?” Blip tried to maintain his neutral tone, no matter how much he wanted to punch the jackass in the face.

“Because I don’t want her to think, that I think, that she can’t handle herself.” Mike didn’t understand why he had to explain something this obvious to Blip.

“I’m sure she’d be happy if you called and asked how she was doing.” Blip had hard time following Mike’s reasoning.

“I’m not going to call her and give her the third degree! Was there something else?” Mike ended the discussion before Blip suggested something more stupid than that.

“No man! I’m done,” Blip said with anger ringing in his voice and turned away before he said something he’d regret instantly. If few days without Ginny around did this to Mike, what would it be when she divorced him? Blip had never hoped more for the two of them to acknowledge what was going on between them, than he did right now. As incomprehensible as it sounded, Mike not getting any and wanting Ginny at the same time, was the biggest problem the team had encountered all season.

Few moments later Ginny received a short message from Blip, stating simply: “ _Come get your husband, he’s being impossible without you._ ”

Ginny would never admit it, if asked, but part of her was happy that her being home while he was away had some kind of effect on him. And she wouldn’t admit either, that more than the game, she missed Mike.

 

\--

 

The next day Ginny’s phone rang little after 10pm while she was stretched out on Mike’s bed, wearing his used t-shirt, watching TV and being bored, like she had been most of the week. When she saw Mike’s name on the screen, her face turned instantly happy. She grabbed the phone but all of a sudden, she didn’t want to answer right away to look like she had been doing nothing but waiting for someone, him, to call her. She didn’t want to seem desperate.

When she finally did answer the phone, she forced herself to tone down her enthusiasm.

“Hey, what’s up,” she managed to appear as unexcited as possible.

“Just calling to hear how you’re doing,” he mimicked her unenthusiastic tone.

All the sudden, hearing his voice gave butterflies in her stomach. She pushed the feeling aside, ignoring it obstinately.

 “You know, fed up, wanting to play,” she told him.

“We could use your help,” he said, while still remembering how Ginny had earlier commented on them making a mess on the field.

“So, was the game bad then?”

“Didn’t you watch it?”

“Hell no! It’s bad enough not being able to play. I don’t want my mind on the game when I can’t be there to do my best for the team.”

“Well what have you been doing then?” Mike was curious to know how Ginny had been spending her days.

“Nothing!”

“Nothing, as in nothing worth mentioning or nothing you want to tell me? Have you been spending your time with younger men while I’ve been away?” The last part came across slightly accusatory even if there was certain playfulness in his voice.

“There haven’t been any men, young or old!” Ginny was slightly offended on her part. How could Mike say something like that, regardless if he was merely joking about it?

“What then? You can’t mean that you’ve been lazing by the pool all the time.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to visit San Diego Zoo. I went there with the twins today,” Ginny finally admitted.

“Aha! I knew it, you HAVE been spending your time with younger men!”

“Shut up!” She couldn’t hold back her laughter. This was nice, reminded her of the old days when they weren’t married or living together and used to talk on the phone in the evenings, teasing each other over the stupidest things, talking about anything and everything.

“Boy, am I glad we have a prenup, you can’t get your hands on my money when you leave me for some sleazeball.”

“Yeah, but I’m keeping the ring!” She continued their banter.

“Fine by me, I got it from one of those arcade vending machines anyway! Cost me like two bucks!”

“I guess you don’t mind it then, that I lost in the zoo?”

“Hah hah, wait, did you really?!?” Mike’s laughter turned into anxiety in no time.

“No, I still have it,” she confessed, fiddling the expensive ring in her finger.

Mike sighed heavily. For a moment he thought that Ginny had lost the ring for real.

“You can’t scare me like that, I’m an old man.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll remember it the next time” Ginny promised him.

“So, how was the Zoo? Were you like a little kid, bouncing around the place like you were in a sugar high?” Mike reverted back to the original topic.

“I saw two of your long-lost cousins there, grizzly bear brothers Scout and Montana. The family resemblance could not be mistaken,” Ginny chuckled at her own wittiness.

“Oh, you were thinking about me while you were there? Should I be blushing or should YOU be blushing?” Mike couldn’t refrain from teasing her.

“I was not thinking about you! The other was such a grumpy bear that it was impossible not to make a connection with you.”

He had done it again, made her blush and at that exact moment, she was more than happy, that he was thousands of miles away and not being able to see her rosy cheeks.

“Sure,” the smile shined through his voice, making her smile too.

“Apparently it hasn’t always been so cranky. According to their website, when the bears came to the zoo, they were _10-month-old fuzzy balls of joy_. I bet you were a fuzzy ball of joy when you were 10-month-old,” Ginny giggled on the phone, imagining how cute Mike had been as a baby. She was sure he had been an absolute muffin.

“You bet I was, I can show you pictures, when I get home,” he promised her.

“They had cameras back then?!?”

“I hate to break it to you, I was born in 1980 not 1780.”

“1980 sounds like the times of the dinosaurs to me. I’m so proud you survived in such hostile surroundings. You must really be an alpha male.” Her words were filled with sarcasm and the constant need to have the last word.

“No wonder you married me. Or was it the beard?” He let out a self-satisfied laughter. He wasn’t going to give up until Ginny agreed liking, or dared he hope, loving the beard.

“Enough with the beard talk, old man. You look like a Santa Claus in his late 30’s. And that’s not a compliment.”

“So, you’ve been contemplating my beard then, drawing similarities with other, possibly hot, men?” Now he was really pushing it.

Ginny was trying to come up with a quick response but the longer it took, the more difficult it was.

“For the love of God, I do not spend my days thinking about your beard!” She said a little too desperately.

“Ok, I’ll settle with that for now,” Mike gave up tormenting Ginny and she was more than relieved for it. The discussion about her liking or not liking the beard was becoming harder and harder every time.

“What have you been doing?” Ginny diverted the discussion to Mike’s day.

“Nothing much, went out for a couple beers with the guys,” Mike told her, failing to mention how he had left after half a bottle to call her.

“Have you been treating the boys good?” Ginny tried to approach the subject of him being cranky, as softly as possible.

“Why wouldn’t I have?” What exactly was Ginny accusing him of?

“No reason. Well, you can be a little grouchy sometimes.”

“Me? Never!” How she could imply something like that, was beyond comprehension to Mike.

“Okay, my bad,” she dared to laugh a little.

“How’s the hand?” He finally asked the question, he had originally called her for.

“It’s good. I’m seeing the doctor tomorrow, but I don’t see a reason to prolong the DL.” Ginny was sure the doctor would agree with her.

“Will you call me and tell me what he said?”

“If you want me to,” Ginny was pleased with Mike being concerned for her wellbeing and wanted to know how she was doing. To be honest, she would have been more surprised if he wasn’t concerned.

“Of course I want.” Mike wondered how Ginny could consider any other option?

“Well, I’ll call you then. How’s your knee?”

“It’s been acting up again. I’m going to see the doctor when I get home but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have anything new to say to me.” Mike shared his own concerns.

“How bad is it?” It was Ginny’s turn to be worried for him.

“As bad as it has been for a while now. I suppose it’s time to face the realities that my days as a ballplayer are coming to an end,” he sounded almost defeated.

“Don’t throw in the towel yet,” Ginny urged him not to give up, though she knew just as well as he did, that he wasn’t getting any younger or his knees any better. She simply wasn’t ready to play the game without Mike by her side.

“How could I abandon you? Everyone knows that you’re a disaster on the field without me telling you what to do,” Mike tried to turn it into a joke but Ginny knew he was taking the approaching retirement hard. She sensed how he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet and was joking about it because of that.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” She made sure he knew how important his constant support was to her, made it about her being lost without him and not him being lost without the game.

“I’ll always be there for you, including when I’m retired,” Mike promised.

“But not on the field”

“You don’t need me on the field,” his tone turned more serious. He didn’t want Ginny to ever doubt herself.

“I’ll always need you on the field, you’re my catcher.”

“You’ll forget me the minute they bring some dreamy 22-year old to fill my place.”

“I don’t think anyone can ever fill your place. You’re practically a fixture.”

“A daunting idea,” he commented, wanting to change the subject.

Ginny took the hint and told him how she had finally watched the first Star Wars yesterday, causing some excitement in Mike. He wanted to know if she had liked it and continued telling her how it had been the best thing in the world when he was a kid, before baseball came along. Maybe the movie hadn’t been Ginny’s absolute favorite, but she was delighted to hear how stoked Mike was about it. She thought how he was rarely this open about anything and encouraged him to keep talking. In a while the subject changed from the movies to everyday life and they kept on talking until both of them lost track of time. It took Mike’s voice to become drowsy, for Ginny to realize how late it was and how tired he was. Soon after that her words went unanswered entirely.

“Mike? Mike? Mike?” Ginny called his name softly without getting a reply. Only thing she could hear was his stable breathing, telling her, that he was fast asleep. She knew she should have hung up, but for a few moments she remained on the line, listening him.

“ _This is ridiculous_ ,” she thought and ended the call before her listening to him became borderline creepy. She dug under the covers in Mike’s bed and turned the light off.

“Get a grip of yourself, woman” she ordered herself.

 

\--

 

It was close to midnight when Ginny heard Mike’s car stopping in front of the house. She had stayed up late to see him when he got home from the trip. By the time he opened the door and got in, she had already run downstairs and was standing in the hallway welcoming him home. She could barely contain herself when she saw him. It took all her willpower not to jump to his neck and never let go.

“Hey! Welcome home!” She grinned widely.

“Hey,” Mike’s voice was as tired as he looked. He probably hadn’t slept at all on the plane, or eaten for that matter.

“How was the flight,” Ginny wanted to confirm her suspicions.

“Long, do we have any food in the house?”

What was he thinking? Ginny might not feel at home in the kitchen but the house was never lacking food.

“Plenty! We’ve got Pizza, Fried Rice, spring rolls and loads of other stuff” she listed few to start with.

“Not pizza, anything else is fine.”

“I’ll warm something for you,” Ginny offered and vanished to kitchen before he could say a word.

Fifteen minutes later she was sitting opposite to Mike, watching him eat Fried Rice with a good appetite.

“Do you like it?”

“Hmmmmmh,” he answered with an approving nod of his head.

“I made it myself,” Ginny conjured a wide smile on her face.

“You did?” His eyebrows rose in surprise.                                                                               

“No, but I had to see your face,” she let out that horsey laugh Mike liked so much.

“Was it worth it?”

“Every bit!” Ginny cracked up, grabbing his arm while laughing at the face he was making. The very distinctive face, that told her how much he had liked the way she had messed with him. His temporary sleep deprivation had made him an easy target for it.

“I don’t know how to deal with your stupid ass jokes,” Mike tried to pretend like he didn’t like them, not really thinking that she’d ever believe him.

“I bet you missed my jokes in Cincinnati.”

“Tremendously. I don’t know how I survived without them. Yet, here I am.” the sarcasm was pushing through even with him being tired.

“Well, it’s good to have you home,” her sincerity could not be mistaken.

He finished the supper in silence and with him looking like he was about to fall asleep, Ginny offered to take care of the dishes for him.

“Thanks. I’ll head to bed.”

“Okay, sleep tight” Ginny sent him off with a soft smile.

She washed his plate before heading upstairs herself. In the middle of some unrecognizable song she was humming while washing her teeth, Mike walked in her bathroom. He leaned against the doorframe with an amused expression on his face. Ginny spat the toothpaste to the sink.

“Have you been sleeping in my bed while I was away?” He asked bluntly with his other eyebrow arched.

“NO!” Ginny denied having done such thing and quite frankly, why would something like that even cross his mind.

“You sure about that?” Mike said swinging one of her black hair ties in his finger.

“Well maybe I slept there a little,” she had to admit now that there was evidence to prove it.

“A little? You mean part of you was in the bed or you slept there for an hour?” He mocked her answer. 

“It was one night when the moon was full and shining through my window. I couldn’t get sleep so I went to your bedroom because you can’t see it from there.”

He was nodding at her with his signature expression telling how he didn’t believe a word she was saying. She had never, not once, complained having trouble sleeping when it was full moon. She might as well had been reliving how she had flown into space while he was away and it would have been more believable story than this.  

“It’s ok to like sleeping in my bed, wifey! Do you want to sleep there now that I’m home?”

“Go away,” Ginny motioned her hand towards the open door behind Mike, refusing to respond to his absurd claims and suggestions.

“Have a good night then,” Mike didn’t bother to conceal his triumphant smirk before turning around and leaving Ginny alone in her bathroom.

“Maybe you should have your head checked too when you see the knee specialist tomorrow!” She shouted after him but didn’t get any response.

 

Mike was already asleep when the beeping sound of his message notifications awoke him. He picked up his phone from the bedside table and stared the screen with sleepy eyes. Ginny’s name stared brightly at him, too brightly for his light sensitive and tired eyes.

“Are you sleeping?” Her question was accompanied with a sleepy face and bed emoji.

He sighed heavily.

“I was” he replied without any emojis. He didn’t understand why people used them. He also didn’t understand why she didn’t simply come and ask him in person, instead of sending a message.

“Sorry! Go back to sleep.”

“Whats up?”

“Nothing, I just can’t get any sleep.” She felt bad for waking him up from his sleep.

“Stop tryin and itll come. Do we need to send mesages to discuss this? We’re literally sleepign in oppoiste rooms…” His weary mind and fingers made him type everything wrong.

“Don’t worry about it. See you in the morning.”

Mike placed the phone back on the table without replying and closed his eyes. He fell asleep in the middle of a thought how Ginny was the most annoying, endearing and lovable woman in the entire world, how he couldn’t cope without her anymore and how he wanted her next to him in his bed.

Ginny was wide awake in her own bed. She had missed Mike when he was away but now that he was back home, she missed him all the more. Sharing a home with him was hard when she wanted to curl up next to him and tell him how much she had longed for him and how much she cared for him and loved him. She didn’t understand how this had happened. When did being friends expire and loving him had replaced all other feelings she had for him. She didn’t know how to react to this new affection she had for her best friend. How could she tell it to him when she couldn’t explain it or rationalize it to herself? She thought how she wasn’t equipped with dealing the kind of turmoil that was stirring her mind. The more she thought about it the more daunting it felt and soon she couldn’t think rationally anymore. The fear of the unknown had taken over her in few short moments, what if Mike didn’t love her back, how would people, especially her team mates react to her loving him, how would her mother take the news? The never-ending list of questions kept her awake all night and when she got up in the morning, she felt more exhausted and alone than ever in her life. Was love supposed to make a person to feel like that? She had her doubts about that.


	8. Tipping Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How's Ginny dealing with her revelation about her feelings towards Mike? How's Mike reacting to her suddenly changed behavior?
> 
> Changed the rating to M

Ginny could hear Mike move around the house while he was getting ready for the day. He went about his business as usual, making breakfast, watching ESPN while doing so, getting dressed. There was nothing out of the ordinary about his morning.  

For Ginny, things were different. There was nothing normal about this morning and she couldn’t bring herself to go downstairs. She appeared and was exhausted after a sleepless night and didn’t want to answer questions why that was. Instead, she waited for what seemed like a lifetime for him to leave. When she finally heard the front door closing and Mike driving away, she had the courage to open her bedroom door.

“You stupid idiot! What are you, fifteen?” Ginny bashed herself for being guilty of the oldest cliché in the world of fake marriages, falling for the guy.

This was like some lame-ass storyline from a telenovela, yeah, she had watched those while on DL. Her inability to be alert for such foolishness made her clench her hand into a fist and pound her own forehead as a punishment. She would be the laughingstock of the entire league, or better yet, womanhood. She was supposed to be a strong woman and not some silly girl who swoons over her teammate, the team captain to be more precise. It didn’t cross her mind that basically everyone already thought that she was madly in love with him. She was more interested finding the reasons behind her current predicament. ‘ _Why and how did this happen?’_  She had been asking the same question over and over again during the night and she still didn’t have an answer. It was Mike, for crying out loud! And that god damn jerk was oblivious of it all and waltzed through his day without a care in the world. She could feel a panic attack lurking in the shadows, ready to take over the second she wasn’t paying attention. The fact that she was left alone to dwell upon these thoughts all day wasn’t helping. By the time the game started at Petco, Ginny had decided to pack her bags, leave San Diego while Mike was away, get a false name and a job on some remote Alaskan oil rig where the concept of Baseball was nothing but a distant dream. Of course, she knew that she would never leave, but at this exact moment it seemed like the only viable option for her. She simply wanted to vanish from the face of the earth and sure as hell didn’t want to see Mike.

 

\--

“Gin, I’m home,” Mike greeted from the front door. When he didn’t get a reply from her, he called her name again.

“Gin?”

He knew she was home because he had seen her through the window when he got out of the car. Mike walked upstairs and knocked on her half-closed door, not waiting for an answer before pushing it open.

“Hey!”

Ginny was sitting on her bed with her red headphones on. She wasn’t happy that he had come to her bedroom without asking a permission and gave him an annoyed look. Normally she wouldn’t have minded him doing so but that wasn’t the case tonight.

“I want to be alone, Mike,” she said without greeting him and though she was half tempted to keep the headphones on, she pushed them away to hear him speak.

“Ehh? Well, I’m going to make dinner if you’re hungry,” Mike was surprised that she was so edgy.

“I’m not,” she was quickly getting impatient with him invading her privacy.

“Okay,” he looked baffled, but decided not to comment on her moodiness. “Have a good night,” his words sounded more like a question than a well-wishing.

“I’m trying to,” Ginny’s eyebrows rose as she spoke.

This was one of those moments when an ill-judged man, who though himself to be funny, could have asked whether it was ‘that time of the month’, but Mike knew better, he knew Ginny better and that in fact, it wasn’t that time of the month. Suddenly it occurred to him that it could be considered somewhat creepy that he knew these things about Gin’s menstrual cycle. But then again, was it really that surprising, having lived with her for months now? Then he realized that Ginny was staring at him with the look on her face that told him to get lost. Without saying another word, he turned around and left the room.

“Now that wasn’t strange at all, Mike,” he thought on his way back downstairs.

He sat by the kitchen counter with a plate of pasta, thinking how she seemed fine yesterday and now she clearly was not. He didn’t understand what had changed overnight. Was it him teasing her over sleeping in his room? She used to sleep next to him regularly, but it had stopped around a month ago. He didn’t know why and had never asked her. Maybe she was cranky, nothing more. It wasn’t like he had an exclusive right to be grumpy, but seeing Ginny like that, wasn’t something he was used to. She was usually full of sunshine and there was no shame admitting that her opposite mood had taken him by surprise.

 

\--

“How’s Ginny?” Blip wanted to know the next day.

“I don’t know,” Mike admitted. He really didn’t have the faintest idea.

“You don’t know?” To Blip the answer seemed weird. How could he not know, they lived together?

“She was fine when I got back from the away trip and yesterday she wasn’t. I’d say the correct phrase to describe her yesterday’s behavior would be ‘pissed off” and I don’t know if it’s my fault or something else,” Mike explained.

“Well, have you done something to upset her?” Blip asked. It wouldn’t be the first time Mike had done something to irritate Ginny. Sometimes being ‘Mike’ was enough.

“Not that I know of, but she’s a woman and God knows, I’ve never really understood the way their brains work.” Mike, not wanting to have a heart to heart with Blip on the subject, tried to turn the conversation into a joke.  

“Maybe she’s stressed, with her being on DL and you leaving in the morning to play? You know how much she wants to be part of the action,” Blip ignored his attempt to steer the conversation to a different direction.

“Yeah, maybe that’s it,” Mike agreed but something told him that it wasn’t the case. If she had been angry because she couldn’t play, she would have said so. She wouldn’t keep her mouth shut about something like that. He knew her well enough to know that no matter what was bugging her, was more than some minor thing. And whatever it was, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face it.

“I’m sure whatever it was, she’s in a better mood today. You know, she’s Ginny, she never stays angry for very long,” Blip tried to cheer him up.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mike agreed, wanting to drop the issue.

“You seeing the doctor before the game?” Blip finally let go.

“Yeah, I’m heading there now,” seeing the knee specialist was another thing Mike wasn’t ready to face today.

 

\--

The doctor didn’t have anything new or positive to say to Mike.

“Max 2 years, if you plan on walking in your 70’s. I recommend retiring after this season,” had been his exact words after he had looked at the latest X-ray.

The way the Padres were playing, the season would be over in less than 4 weeks. Mike wasn’t ready to give up the game so soon. After playing the ball for 30 years, 20 of it professionally, he didn’t know anything else. The game defined his identity. Falling on empty, being replaced by younger men, women, being eventually forgotten by the fans, team mates, building an entire life after the game, it all scared him. And coming home after the game, where Ginny was as moody as the day before, wasn’t helping. He wanted to talk with her, tell her what was on his mind and she was practically shutting him out. He hated when things were out of sync with her, especially if he didn’t know what had caused it.

Yesterday had been bad enough and today it was even worse, she was angry at him, barely said a word to him. A million things went through his head, did she see the doctor and her DL was extended, maybe her season was already over? Or maybe she had met someone and wanted to be miles away from her fake husband. Maybe what they had discussed before getting married, about the possibility of her regretting the marriage at some point, had become reality and she hadn’t told him. Because that’s what she was like, she didn’t want to make him feel bad, not when he had offered to help her. Maybe the pretending, the deceiving of the media and their fans was too much to deal with. But really his head was stuck to the one dreadful idea of her having found some guy. He hated the idea of his Ginny with some other man. It didn’t make difference that she really wasn’t ‘his’ in the first place. Friends didn’t belong to each other. But in all seriousness, who was he kidding? He had stopped considering Ginny as his friend long before offering to be her husband. He would never have married her if he didn’t love her.

So, was this current situation initially his own fault? A lovesick man pretends not to love a woman and lures her into a marriage and expects her to fall in love with him? This was like a script from a bad chick flick and quite frankly, bordering insanity. He realized now that his actions hadn’t been the healthiest way to deal with his feelings. How could he have been so stupid to think that anything good could come out of this?

He pushed the intimidating thoughts away, like he always did if he didn’t want to deal with them, and pretended nothing was wrong. He had always been good at that, hiding his inner feelings from others.

“You eating?” He asked seemingly carefree.

“Yes,” as much as she wanted to say no, his damn cooking skills and her hunger got the best of her and she had to yield.

In the end, saying ‘no’ would probably had been a better choice. The atmosphere was verging on Antarctica chilly as the two sat face to face having dinner.

“Could you pass the salt, please?” Mike asked, and Ginny handed the shaker without saying a word.

Mike had put up with her silent treatment all evening but enough was enough.

“Have I done something?” He snapped at her.

“What?!?” Ginny’s tone was just as hostile as his.

“You behave like I’ve committed some terrible crime. Care to tell me what it is so that I can atone my sins?” He sounded harsher than he had initially intended to.

“This isn’t about you!” She couldn’t have told him a bigger lie. This was all about him, her, them, the universe which would explode if she said what was on her mind.

“Because it’s always about you, isn’t it?” Mike didn’t know where the nasty words kept coming from, he certainly hadn’t planned on saying anything so bitter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ginny was on full defense now.

“You were fine two nights ago when I got home and now you’re not. That’s fine, you can be as sour as you want, but don’t expect me to read your mind to know what’s going on with you!” He saw that this discussion was heading towards a disaster but no matter how he wanted, he couldn’t tone down his spitefulness one bit.

“If only things were so simple, that you reading my mind, would solve everything,” Ginny fumed.

“The way your mind works boggles me sometimes and me reading it would probably only raise more questions than give answers. You’re the epitome of illogical thinking!” Mike wasn’t backing away. Neither of them could anymore without losing their face.

“Just because you don’t understand me, doesn’t mean the problem is at this end. Maybe you should stop twisting everything I say and look in the mirror!” Ginny seemed to have decided that attack was the best defense at this point, but it only made Mike more furious.

“Instead of divulging your preposterous accusations, you could just shut the fuck up for a second and you’d might hear what other people are saying. I asked what have I done and you tell that I’m twisting your words?” Mike wasn’t going to let her have the last word, not this time.

“Here we go again! Do you really think that every single thing that’s going on in my life has to do with you? Has it ever crossed your mind that you’re not the sole purpose of my existence? No, it hasn’t! Because it goes without saying that The Great Mike Lawson assumes that the world revolves around his ego and no-one else exists in his tiny little world. This may come as a surprise to you but you’re not the center of the universe!” Ginny was practically screaming at his face.

Things had escalated quickly from saying nothing at all to losing the capability of rational thinking and blurting out what ever came to their mind, no matter how petty or childish.

“Look who’s talking! You’re pretty good at wallowing in self-pity yourself, ignoring everyone else around you. You’re not the only one with problems in this town. There’s only so much I can take shit right now, especially from you!” Mike stormed up from the chair, knocking it down as he grabbed the half-eaten plate from the table, turned around and slammed it in the sink with such a force that most of the leftover food on it flew overboard.

Mike’s reaction made Ginny paralyze. By the time she got her mobility back, he was long gone with the slamming of his bedroom door telling her that he wasn’t kidding around. She had never seen him this angry and she hated the idea that she had caused it. She felt ashamed for treating him so badly, saying such mean things. This was, after all, his house and she was his guest. No man should suffer such hatred in his own home. Only then she remembered that Mike had seen the doctor today and she felt horrible for forgetting it and concentrating in her own problems. She considered going up and knocking on his door, but not knowing how she’d be welcomed, she decided to let him be for now. She’d have plenty of time in the morning to say she was sorry, make things right again. No matter how conflicted she was, fighting with him was the last thing she wanted.

 

\--

Mike was sitting on his bed. TV was on, but he was staring into nothingness. Usually Ginny would be there watching TV too, lying on her stomach, left hand holding her chin up with her crossed legs swinging above her own ass and blocking his view in the process. He’d tap her leg with the remote control to make her stop and if that didn’t help, he’d give her a gentle nudge on her butt with his foot. He would have given anything to have that right now, to have Ginny next to him. Since it wasn’t happening, he tried to get some sleep. He had already turned the lights off when something made him get up from the bed and step outside his bedroom. There wasn’t any light coming from under Ginny’s door and for a brief moment he considered turning around and returning to his own room. Then he decided that he wanted to apologize to her now instead of letting her think that he was still angry with her. He’d probably sleep much better after that.

Mike knocked on Ginny’s door and waited for an answer. There was nothing, not even a ‘Fuck Off’ and he opened the door cautiously.

“Gin?”

She didn’t answer, and he called her name again.

“Huh?” She finally replied after third time.

He could hear from her drowsy voice that he had woken her up.

“I’m sorry, Gin,” Mike continued now that she was awake and before he’d chicken out. “For what I said earlier,” he clarified further.

“It’s okay,” Ginny just wanted things to go back to the way they were and managed to sound like it hadn’t been a big deal.  

“I always manage to say something that ruins everything, and I don’t want that. I don’t want us to fight,” Mike had to tell her what was on his mind, regardless the fact that he had saw her wanting to forget the whole thing, act like it didn’t happen in the first place.

“It’s been a stressful week,” Ginny offered as an excuse.

“It’s not this week alone. I feel like things have changed.” Mike said, not knowing whether things would be better or worse after this conversation.

Ginny turned her bedside lamp on and sat up on her bed.

“What do you mean?” She wanted to know.

Mike sat on her bed, too afraid to look into her eyes. “If you’re regretting this, if you want out, I need you to tell me.”

“I don’t want that,” she dismissed the idea quickly.

“Are you sure, because I don’t want you to be miserable with me. I mean, if there’s someone,” the words felt heavy on his heart, but this was the right thing to do, let her go, if that’s what she wanted.

What the hell was he rambling about? Where did this thought come from? When exactly would she have time to meet anyone? If she wasn’t playing or practicing she was with him, 24/7.

“There isn’t anyone else,” she stated matter-of-factly, not wanting to leave any room for doubt.

Or was this his way of telling that he had found someone?

“Is that what you want, to end this?” she went on, barely hiding the tremble in her voice.

He could tell her what he really wanted but what good would it do?

“You have to tell me what’s on your mind, Mike,” she insisted, despite being nervous about where this conversation was heading.

“I don’t want to be your fake husband,” he told her without thinking what it must have sounded like in her mind.

Ginny was already regretting for asking Mike’s thoughts. She didn’t want to hear what he was telling her and she wanted to tell him to ‘shut up’.

“I see,” she was fighting back the tears.

“I hate that I have to pretend when I’m close to you,” Mike continued.

“So, you want me to move out?” Ginny gathered all her willpower to stay cool.

“NO, I don’t want you to move out, Gin! I want you to move in,” he sounded almost broken. Talking was usually a lot easier. Now everything he said seemed to be misinterpreted.

To Ginny, he wasn’t making any sense.

“Move in?” Sometimes she thought Mike was speaking a language he alone understood.

“To my room, to make it our room,” did he really have to spell it to her and make a complete ass of himself while doing so? This was hard enough without her making it excruciating.

“What?” Ginny had heard the words, but she wasn’t convinced if she had understood them correctly.

“I want you, Gin, us. I love you,” he finally expressed his thoughts in the manner that was perfectly clear to everyone in that room, him and her. And though he feared her reaction, his entire existence was so much lighter now that he had said it, as if the proverbial weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“What,” she knew it wasn’t the sole word in her vocabulary, but it seemed she had temporarily forgotten the rest of them.

“So, if that’s something you don’t want now or any time in the future, tell me,” he sounded a lot more confident. Ginny on the other hand was still trying to find words. During those six seconds of pressing silence, Mike experienced every array of feelings he possibly could, fear, anticipation, hope, despair, hopelessness.

“I,” she started but paused to arrange her words carefully. “At first, when you were on the game trip and I was at home, I thought I was angry and sad because I couldn’t play. Then I realized it was because I missed you. Not my teammate, not my friend but my grumpypants husband.”

“You missed me?” Was he allowed to hope that she had feelings for him? The corner of his mouth twitched as a smile tried to find it’s way on his lips.

“Terribly! And then you came home, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. No-one ever told me how to process being in love with my husband.”

This was one of the few times Ginny had ever witnessed Mike Lawson being out of words.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked when she didn’t get a reaction from him and finally turned his face into a smile.

“So, what happens now?” He seemed a little lost. He had initially come to her room to apologize for the fight and now they were in love.

“You could start by coming a little closer,” Ginny suggested.

“Oh… yeah,” Mike agreed and leaned over.

“What are you waiting for, kiss me, grumpy bear!” Her patience was wearing thin with Mike’s stalling. This was not the time to hold back, not when a girl has told you two seconds ago that she loves you. This was when you swept her off her feet, or since she’s sitting on her bed, made her dizzy otherwise.

He obeyed her willingly and kissed her. It wasn’t their first, second or even a third kiss but none of the previous one’s had meant anything this significant. Team mates’ kisses, fake wedding kisses or drunken kisses were nothing compared to this one shared by two people in love.

Mike’s beard was scratching Ginny’s skin, but she didn’t care. Kissing him was more vital than the possible downsides of his prickly facial hair. He wrapped his hands around her, squeezing her closer as if making sure she didn’t run away. Mike didn’t need to worry about that, Ginny wasn’t going anywhere. She was holding on to his t-shirt, pulling it like it was her lifeline, till she pulled it hard enough to tilt him on top of her.

“Can we please have sex?” Ginny went straight to business, knowing that’s where they were heading anyway. She was tired of waiting for it.

“Yes, darling,” Mike promised eagerly in between kisses as Ginny’s hand was finding it’s way inside his briefs to give his ass a tight squeeze. She was almost ashamed for how much she liked his butt. He didn’t seem to mind her fondling it. It was only when she started to pull his briefs down that made Mike pause, break away from the kiss.

“No, wait Gin, we can’t without a condom,” he pulled away from her reluctantly.

“Well, hurry up, the morning comes sooner than you think,” Ginny sighed in frustration.

“I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he left the room, a panic rushed over her like tidal wave. What if he had second thoughts and didn’t come back, of course he would come back, oh dear Lord, she must look like a homeless person with her scruffy hair, bet she also had sleep wrinkles all over her skin and he’d come back, see her and reassess the situation and back the hell away. She run her fingers through her hair to make herself little more presentable. While she was straightening her grey jersey, Mike walked back in.

There she was, her hair sticking out to every direction and wearing those god-awful worn out grey pj’s again and yet, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The smile on his face told her that he didn’t mind her outfit or appearance, quite the contrary, he admired her openly.

“I see that you got rid of your clothes already,” Ginny smirked at the sight of his naked body. This wasn’t the first time she had seen Mike in his birthday suit and he was just as impressive as she remembered.

“They got in the way,” he sounded slightly smug, but Ginny wouldn’t have expected anything less. He was Mike, after all.

“Come here then, I want to be closer to all that bare skin of yours,” she bit her lip to stop herself from smiling like an idiot.

He walked back to her and stopped right in front of her. “I think we need to get you out of that horrible hockey player’s underlayer,” a demanding kiss followed his words.

She could have been insulted by his comment, but the mischievous smirk on his face told her that he sort of liked her ugly PJ’s, maybe was even slightly turned on by them. She would never fully understand men.

“Yeah? You gonna help me with that or what?”

“I’ll help you,” he concurred, pulling the grey jersey over her head. His fingers on her skin made her tingly.

“Come closer,” her voice had turned hoarse from anticipation.

Mike sat on the bed and lifted Ginny onto his lap, kissing her neck, jawline, lips. She replied to his affections by kissing his nose and cheeks.

“My beautiful, darling husband.”

Hearing Ginny call him ‘hers’ made him even more excited.

“God, I want you so much,” Mike whispered to her ear. He honestly didn’t think he had ever wanted a woman more than he wanted Ginny.

“And I want you,” She replied to him, craving for his touch.

“I think I’ve wanted you since day one,” he felt like he owed her the truth and to himself as well.

“Show me how much,” Ginny urged him.

Mike lifted her enough to press her back against the bed and returned kissing her. His lips burned Ginny’s skin, leaving a long-lasting sensation wherever they touched, making her want him more.

“Jesus, Mike, get on with it,” she begged anxiously.

Mike didn’t want to prolong the inevitable any more than she did. He pulled her PJ bottoms down and threw them on the floor. He rolled the condom on and got back on top of her. His eyes were filled with pure lust for his wife and it didn’t escape Ginny’s notice, making her blush a little. Mike rubbed her nose softly with his to acknowledge how endearing he found her reaction.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” he was well aware how desperate his words sounded but he didn’t give a damn about it. He considered this to be some sort of wonder.

“I can’ believe I waited for months to have sex with my husband,” Ginny admitted on her part.  

“I like how that sounds, ‘you having sex with your husband’,” Mike had a wide grin on his face. He couldn’t hide his eagerness anymore, nor did he want to.

“And I can’t wait to find out what it feels like,” She hinted less that subtly. Him lodged between her thighs wasn’t helping to fight the frustration.

“I wouldn’t want to keep you guessing,” he spread her legs a little wider and gave her what she wanted.

Despite his gentleness, his size made Ginny gasp at first but soon she grew accustomed to him. And the longer he continued the more she wanted it, him. Her short nails dug deep into his back, leaving traces of passion on his skin, making him groan out of pleasure.

“Harder, Mike” she encouraged him, and he wasn’t going to disappoint his Ginny. In the end, he always gave her what she wanted. For a moment, her needs made him forget all about his bad knees and sore back. The only thing he wanted was to make her feel loved, wanted, satisfied and maybe have the same for himself as well.

“I love you so much,” he repeated his declaration from earlier, not wanting her to ever forget it.

“I love you too, honey,” Ginny was sure she’d start crying any second but managed to hold back the tears. She had never felt anything more beautiful than being loved by him. Although this physical manifestation of that said love, came very close too. His feelings weren’t any lesser.

Mike’s eyes on hers, as they made love, was the most intimate thing Ginny had ever experienced and he couldn’t take them off of her. Not when his fingers looked for hers to twine together, when her hips bucked against his asking for more, and not when he made her world explode into a million little stars as she came. Her intense physical reaction sent him over the edge and only then he turned his gaze away, burying his face into the pillow. He was trembling, powerless and utterly spent on top of her. With her soft touches and gentle kisses Ginny made him calm down, leaving him fully satisfied in the arms of his beautiful wife.

 

Half an hour and countless cuddles later Ginny was resting her head against Mike’s chest.

“Hold me,” she asked softly, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Isn’t that what I’m doing already?” Mike’s question was accompanied with a tender kiss on her forehead, his fingers dancing slowly on the small of her back.

“Squeeze me tighter,” she gave him more specific instructions.

Mike wasn’t going to deny her request, if she wanted to be closer to him, that’s what she was going to get. He pulled her closer, almost on top himself. “Better?”

“Yes,” Ginny verified. There was a strong possibility that this was the best place on earth. The thought made her smile. “Grumpy Bear?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“I feel like I should point out that our first time together was make up sex.”  

Her words made Mike chuckle, not because he thought that she was being silly but for being right.

“You’re absolutely correct, pumpkin,” he agreed.

“I don’t have anything against make up sex, but I do hope we don’t have to fight every time to do it.”

“I promise, next time we don’t need to fight to have sex,” he didn’t have anything against make up sex either, but he’d rather not fight with his wife just for the hopes of getting laid.

“That’s good, fighting is so exhausting,” Ginny yawned against his chest. All these physical activities in the middle of the night had left her weary.

“We should sleep,” Mike whispered.

Ginny was already half asleep and muttered a ‘good night’ with a tired voice.

“Good night,” he wished her back.

Mike knew he should have slept too, but he couldn’t help himself for wanting to marvel at the woman sleeping against his chest and what had happened tonight. How an evening, that started so poorly, had ended better than he could have ever hoped for and how he loved his darling Ginny so much. What was even more astounding, was that she loved him back. With that happy though in his mind and holding Ginny close to him, he fell slowly to a peaceful sleep.


End file.
